Sikorsky S-61 disaster 1983
Encyclopedia
On 16 July 1983, British Airways Helicopters
' commercial Sikorsky S-61
helicopter Oscar November (G-BEON) crashed in the southern Celtic Sea
, in the Atlantic Ocean, when en route from Penzance
to the St Mary's, Isles of Scilly
in thick fog. Only six of the 26 on board survived. It sparked a review of helicopter safety and was the worst civilian helicopter disaster in the UK until 1986, when Boeing 234LR Chinook
helicopter G-BWFC
crashed in the North Sea
.
, the Sikorsky S-61N registered G-BEON operated between Aberdeen
and the oil platforms of the North Sea.
On 22 June 1983, Oscar November received its last annual certificate of airworthiness.
On 24 June 1983, it was being used as a replacement helicopter, operating the British Airways Helicopters service between Penzance
and the Isles of Scilly. The helicopter which would normally run the service, ever since its purchase in 1974, was in for repairs.
on St Mary's lost contact with the helicopter, before it had the chance to send a Mayday
signal or to ditch
under power. It had crashed nose-first into the sea and sunk immediately, only 2.5 miles (4 km) from St Mary's Airport. The six survivors were unable to don lifejackets in time, but were able to float for 30 minutes before St Mary's Lifeboat
RNLB Robert Edgar attended the scene.
The survivors were: two children, both of whom were orphaned by the incident; the two pilots, Dominic Lawlor and Neil Charleton; and the only two Scillonians onboard, Lucille Langley-Williams and Megan Smith. There were twenty fatalities.
The helicopter did not carry a black box, as it had been found that the vibrations from helicopter flight render black box recordings unreliable. The only record of the flight was from the pilot's log, documents carried in a pouch in the cabin.
On the surface, she found the five other survivors. Shortly after, the two maroons
signalling the launch of St Mary's Lifeboat
could be heard. "We were just chatting about what would happen and I said the boat was on its way." Rescue helicopters from RNAS Culdrose
could not see the survivors through the thick mist. "It was the most wonderful moment in my life to see the coxswain's face as he reached down over the side of the lifeboat."
The coxswain of the lifeboat was Matt Lethbridge.
salvage vessel Seaforth Clansman at 1 p.m. on 19 July. The Seaforth Clansman, along with Penlee Lifeboat RNLB Mabel Alice, had the duty of returning 17 bodies to shore.
The aircraft had lost its nose-cone and sponson
s (wheel housing and floatation device). The starboard sponson was damaged but retained its capacity to float; the port was undamaged and failed to float. Three of the five main blades had been sheared off, along with the rear rotor blades. The cabin was badly damaged. The port-side escape windows were missing.
at Farnborough
, Hampshire.
Initially there was speculation that the helicopter could have flown into a flock of seagulls after mutilated bird corpses were found near the scene. However, Islanders found more dead seabirds on the shore, without mutilations. To add to the evidence against, the grille that prevents seabirds entering the engine was found intact.
'. The official report concluded that the accident was caused by the pilot not observing and correcting an unintentional descent before the helicopter collided with the sea during an attempt to fly at 250 feet using visual clues in poor and deceptive visibility over a calm sea. The report also added that the following were contributory factors:
The Sunday Times
(24 March 1985) reported that of eight recommendations made in the report, seven were accepted by the CAA
after the report, five had been suggested before the crash and three were already in force on other passenger aircraft operations at the time.
British Airways Helicopters
British Airways Helicopters was a British helicopter airline from 1964 to 1986.-History:From 1947 British European Airways had operated a Helicopter Experiment Unit and five helicopters were ordered from the United States .The unit operated timetabled mail services in East Anglia during 1948 using...
' commercial Sikorsky S-61
Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the successful SH-3 Sea King helicopter. They are two of the most widely used airliner and oil rig support helicopters built.-Design and development:...
helicopter Oscar November (G-BEON) crashed in the southern Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
, in the Atlantic Ocean, when en route from Penzance
Penzance Heliport
Penzance Heliport is located northeast of Penzance, Cornwall. The heliport has scheduled flights to the Isles of Scilly, which connect to the railway network at Penzance railway station by a special bus service...
to the St Mary's, Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
in thick fog. Only six of the 26 on board survived. It sparked a review of helicopter safety and was the worst civilian helicopter disaster in the UK until 1986, when Boeing 234LR Chinook
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
helicopter G-BWFC
Sumburgh disaster
The Sumburgh disaster was the crash of a Boeing 234LR Chinook helicopter on 6 November 1986 with a loss of 43 passengers and two crew members. The helicopter was on approach to land at Sumburgh Airport Shetland Islands returning workers for the Brent oilfield...
crashed in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
Background
Owned by British Airways HelicoptersBritish Airways Helicopters
British Airways Helicopters was a British helicopter airline from 1964 to 1986.-History:From 1947 British European Airways had operated a Helicopter Experiment Unit and five helicopters were ordered from the United States .The unit operated timetabled mail services in East Anglia during 1948 using...
, the Sikorsky S-61N registered G-BEON operated between Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and the oil platforms of the North Sea.
On 22 June 1983, Oscar November received its last annual certificate of airworthiness.
On 24 June 1983, it was being used as a replacement helicopter, operating the British Airways Helicopters service between Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
and the Isles of Scilly. The helicopter which would normally run the service, ever since its purchase in 1974, was in for repairs.
Incident
Oscar November left Penzance on its scheduled 12:40 pm service to the Isles of Scilly. It was flying at 250 feet (76.2 m) over the Celtic Sea, due to poor visibility. Then, at 12:58 pm, air traffic controlAir traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
on St Mary's lost contact with the helicopter, before it had the chance to send a Mayday
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
signal or to ditch
Water landing
A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course....
under power. It had crashed nose-first into the sea and sunk immediately, only 2.5 miles (4 km) from St Mary's Airport. The six survivors were unable to don lifejackets in time, but were able to float for 30 minutes before St Mary's Lifeboat
St Mary's Lifeboat
St Mary's Lifeboat Station is situated in St Mary's Habour, Isles of Scilly and has been an important station for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since the service began in 1837, however without service between 1855 and 1874.-Lifeboats at St Mary's:...
RNLB Robert Edgar attended the scene.
The survivors were: two children, both of whom were orphaned by the incident; the two pilots, Dominic Lawlor and Neil Charleton; and the only two Scillonians onboard, Lucille Langley-Williams and Megan Smith. There were twenty fatalities.
The helicopter did not carry a black box, as it had been found that the vibrations from helicopter flight render black box recordings unreliable. The only record of the flight was from the pilot's log, documents carried in a pouch in the cabin.
Survivor's account
Langley-Williams told The Times (20 July 1983, p. 28 & 18 July 1983, p. 26): "It was very quick. I bumped forwards and hit my head on the seat in front." She asked Smith, "'What the hell is going on?'" The response was one word, by which time the passengers were chest-deep in seawater. "I closed my mouth and took a deep breath and by then I was under water." The seat had twisted on impact, tightening the seatbelt. "I realised I had not got an awful lot of breath left." She released the belt, opened the door and floated to the surface.On the surface, she found the five other survivors. Shortly after, the two maroons
Maroon (rocket)
A maroon is a type of rocket which makes a loud banging report and a bright flash. It is used as an alarm or warning, for example the British Royal National Lifeboat Institution uses these rockets to call the crew when the lifeboat needs to be launched.The RNLI's use of this warning device was...
signalling the launch of St Mary's Lifeboat
St Mary's Lifeboat
St Mary's Lifeboat Station is situated in St Mary's Habour, Isles of Scilly and has been an important station for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since the service began in 1837, however without service between 1855 and 1874.-Lifeboats at St Mary's:...
could be heard. "We were just chatting about what would happen and I said the boat was on its way." Rescue helicopters from RNAS Culdrose
RNAS Culdrose
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose , based in Cornwall, near Helston, on the Lizard Peninsula, has three major roles: serving the Fleet Air Arm's front line Sea King and Merlin helicopter squadrons; providing search and rescue for the South West region; and training specialists for the Royal Navy...
could not see the survivors through the thick mist. "It was the most wonderful moment in my life to see the coxswain's face as he reached down over the side of the lifeboat."
The coxswain of the lifeboat was Matt Lethbridge.
Recovery
The fuselage of Oscar November was located by its locator beacon and was recovered from 200 ft (61 m) below the surface by the RMASRoyal Maritime Auxiliary Service
The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service was a British Government agency which ran a variety of non-combat support vessels for the Royal Navy.-Organisation:...
salvage vessel Seaforth Clansman at 1 p.m. on 19 July. The Seaforth Clansman, along with Penlee Lifeboat RNLB Mabel Alice, had the duty of returning 17 bodies to shore.
The aircraft had lost its nose-cone and sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s (wheel housing and floatation device). The starboard sponson was damaged but retained its capacity to float; the port was undamaged and failed to float. Three of the five main blades had been sheared off, along with the rear rotor blades. The cabin was badly damaged. The port-side escape windows were missing.
Investigation
The fuselage was taken to the Government's Air Accidents Investigation BranchAir Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigates air accidents in the United Kingdom. It is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based on the grounds of Farnborough Airport near Aldershot, Rushmoor, Hampshire.-History:...
at Farnborough
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...
, Hampshire.
Initially there was speculation that the helicopter could have flown into a flock of seagulls after mutilated bird corpses were found near the scene. However, Islanders found more dead seabirds on the shore, without mutilations. To add to the evidence against, the grille that prevents seabirds entering the engine was found intact.
Cause
A report investigating the incident was concluded twenty months later, in February 1985, finding the cause to be 'pilot errorPilot error
Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
'. The official report concluded that the accident was caused by the pilot not observing and correcting an unintentional descent before the helicopter collided with the sea during an attempt to fly at 250 feet using visual clues in poor and deceptive visibility over a calm sea. The report also added that the following were contributory factors:
- inadequate flight instrument monitoring due to flying in visibility conditions unsuited to visual flight.
- lack of audio height warning equipment.
Safety recommendations
The Accident Investigation Branch made eight recommendations :- The weather minima for helicopter flight in visual flight rules and the related crew instrument monitoring procedures should be removed.
- Radio Altimeters, with both audio and visual decision height warning, would be fitted to all helicopters operating offshore as a matter of urgency.
- Consideration should be given to the development of a ground proximity warning system for helicopters.
- The moving of the radio altimeter indicators to within the pilot's field of head-up vision should be examined.
- Helicopters used for public transport should be fitted with an automatically deployable survival radio beacon.
- Consideration should be given to pilots of helicopters used for public transport to wear lifejackets with dual frequency personal locator beacons.
- The use of QFE by the company on low level approaches to St Mary's aerodrome and the minimum RVR should be reviewed.
- The requirements concerning the strength of helicopter passenger and cabin attendant seats be reviewed.
Legacy
The main recommendation from the report was for an audible height warning on passenger helicopters operating off-shore and for the altimeter to be moved nearer to the pilot's 'head-up field of vision'. Ground proximity warning systems were made compulsory on passenger planes in 1977. It was also recommended that:- The strength of both the passenger and attendant seats should be improved. All of the twin seats inside Oscar November sheared off, whilst the single seats remained fixed. The four surviving passengers were sitting in the single seats.
- A review of minimum weather standards for helicopter flight should take place. The pilot was flying within BA regulations which state that the pilot is allowed to fly on visual if visibility is 900 metres. The pilots' union, BALPABritish Air Line Pilots AssociationThe British Air Line Pilots' Association represents well over 75% of all the fixed wing pilots and helicopter aircrew based in the UK - as well as many working overseas. The Association has a membership of over 10,000 professional flight crew, working in companies large and small...
, had recommended this distance be increased to 1 nautical miles (1.9 km) after a Bell 212 crashed in the North Sea in 1981. If this had been accepted, the flight would have been conducted under IFR using instruments. - Improvements should be made in barometricBarometerA barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
pressureAtmospheric pressureAtmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
indicators. - Pilots should wear life-jacketPersonal flotation deviceA personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...
s with personal beacons.
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
(24 March 1985) reported that of eight recommendations made in the report, seven were accepted by the CAA
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...
after the report, five had been suggested before the crash and three were already in force on other passenger aircraft operations at the time.
See also
- List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
- Sumburgh disasterSumburgh disasterThe Sumburgh disaster was the crash of a Boeing 234LR Chinook helicopter on 6 November 1986 with a loss of 43 passengers and two crew members. The helicopter was on approach to land at Sumburgh Airport Shetland Islands returning workers for the Brent oilfield...
- Air safetyAir safetyAir safety is a term encompassing the theory, investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education and training. It can also be applied in the context of campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel.-United...
- Accidents and incidents in aviation