A TAXI driver was “eyeballing” a helicopter pilot as he flew 5ft above his vehicle, an inquest into a fatal crash has heard.

Pilot Dave Sale was heard to say “let’s scare the s*** out of this taxi” as he flew the Puma helicopter low and fast above the ground.

Minutes afterwards, the crew were laughing and joking as the Johnny Cash hit Ring Of Fire was played over the cockpit speaker.

About two hours later, the £20m aircraft crashed, killing three men.

The “unprofessional” behaviour was revealed at the start of the third week of the inquest of Flight Lieutenant Sale, 28, from Norton, near Stockton, Sergeant Phillip Burfoot, 27, from Cardiff, and 17-year-old Glaswegian Private Sean Tait, who were killed in the accident.

The inquest heard how a taxi driver stopped in the road as the helicopter, which was not carrying Army recruits at the time, flew low overhead.

Coroner Geoff Fell said it was the “most compelling piece of evidence”

of the inquest. Mr Fell said: “He stopped the car. He said he was eyeballing the pilot, and described the helicopter 5ft above his car.

“I agree there may be some discrepancy over exactly how high it was, but for me the significant point is that he stopped the car.”

The coroner played extracts of the last two hours of the cockpit voice recording of the doomed aircraft.

Flight Lieutenant Robert Hamilton, who was the nonhandling pilot when the Puma crashed and was left paraplegic as a result of his injuries, described the crew’s behaviour as “unprofessional”.

“I will hold my hands up and say it was unprofessional,” he told the coroner.

The Puma crashed near Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, on August 8, 2007, while taking part in low-level manoeuvres with a total of 12 military personnel on board. During the twoday exercise, young Army recruits were being picked up and dropped off at selected sites by the helicopter crew.

Mr Hamilton described how he enjoyed fish and chips with his crew members before having a cigarette and phoning his girlfriend shortly before the final flight of the day.

He phoned his future wife to say: “It was the best day’s flying I’ve had.”

The inquest continues.