ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 17917
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| Date: | Thursday 29 June 1995 |
| Time: | 15:10 |
| Type: |  Agusta-Bell AB 206 |
| Owner/operator: | Castle Air Charters Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BHXU |
| MSN: | 8595 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 17 miles N of Alderney, Channel Islands -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Liskeard, Cornwall |
| Deauville, France | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Ditched into the sea 17 miles North of Alderney, Channel Islands, at 15:10 hours on 29/6/1995 due to failure of engine gearbox whilst on a ferry/positioning flight from its base at Liskeard, Cornwall to Deauville, France. Aircraft sank soon after ditching and was not recovered, therefore no absolute cause of the accident could be determined
Crew of 2 were able to send a MAYDAY call, and radio their position. A Piper PA-28 in the area heard the MAYDAY call and relayed it to Jersey Airport. Crew managed to escape from the sinking helicopter, and were rescued by a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from RNAS Portland, which had them lifted from the sea by 15:38 hours
Per eyewitness report: "The engine gear box packed up, and the engine stopped 17 miles from Alderney at 1,000 feet. Michael carried out engine off landing & ditched in sea...aircraft rolled over and started to sink in about one second. Escaped under water using short term air supply system (STASS) (first time used by civilian crew in anger). 2 crew Picked up by Navy about 45 mins later and flown to Guernsey, then back to base with Keith in G-TELY. Rigged the spare (G-SPEY) left at dawn the next day to France and completed job on time. G-BHXU sank & was not recovered."
G-BHXU's greatest claim to fame was that it had been the helicopter which was used in the 1982-89 Channel 4 TV Series "Treasure Hunt". Registration G-BHXU cancelled by the CAA on 28/7/1995 as aircraft "destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fdece5274a1317000975/Agusta_Bell_206B_Jet_Ranger_II__G-BHXU_09-95.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BHXU
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Hunt_(UK_game_show)
4. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196297/trivia
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Air
6. https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/419023-rotary-nostalgia-thread-25.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2008 11:10 | ASN archive | Added |
| 18-Nov-2012 16:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Embed code, Damage] |
| 19-Nov-2012 14:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 09-Nov-2015 18:17 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 07-Jun-2016 22:32 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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