ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 139622
Last updated: 19 May 2013
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| Date: | 16-OCT-1999 |
| Time: | 16:30 local |
| Type: | Westland Scout AH.1 |
| Operator: | Raffia Enterprises Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BXRL |
| C/n / msn: | F9636 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Tarmac Quarry, Hearts Hill, Nuneaton, Warwickshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Baxterly, near Tamworth, Staffordshire |
| Bulkington, Warwickshire |
At about 1600 hrs on the day of the accident the pilot arrived at Baxterly near Tamworth,
Staffordshire where he completed a pre-flight inspection of his helicopter. He noted there was
about 800 lb, (3/4 fuel) on board. He intended to fly from Baxterly to Bulkington, Warwickshire
but flew for about 15 minutes in the local area before returning to Baxterley prior to the flight to
Bulkington. The pilot knew he would need help to put the helicopter into a hangar at Bulkington, and so two friends, one of whom was a part owner of the helicopter, accompanied him on the flight.
After taking off the pilot routed along the A5 road, skirting Nuneaton to the north and he arrived
over the airstrip after about 15 minutes. The hangar was blocked by a World War II tank, which
was the property of the hangar owner. It had run out of fuel and since use of the hangar was not
possible the pilot decided to return to Baxterley. In the cruise at about 90 kt while passing abeam
Mancetter at 1,500 feet the helicopter shuddered and yawed left. The pilot lowered the collective
pitch lever to enter auto-rotation and heard an audio warning. In front of and below him there was
a fun fair and some houses and so the pilot turned right and descended over a quarry, the base of
which was flooded. The pilot noticed the cross hatched 'zero power' (torque) warning on the
instrument panel. Approaching the surface, he 'flared' late and the helicopter impacted the water
hard, before coming to rest inverted
Aircraft was ex-Army Scout AH.1 XT630: civil registration G-BXRL officially cancelled by Civil Aviation Authority 20 March 2000 as "destroyed" (although he wreckage was recovered to
Bruntingthorpe Airfield for static display, where it still exists)
Sources:
http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/dft_avsafety_pdf_501827.pdf
http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=reg&fullregmark=BXRL
http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=14869
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Nov-2011 00:03 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 24-Nov-2012 14:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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