ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 18534
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| Date: | Monday 5 April 1999 |
| Time: | 11:00 |
| Type: |  Bell 206A JetRanger |
| Owner/operator: | P & I Data Services Ltd |
| Registration: | G-OPNI |
| MSN: | 83 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1967 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | English Channel, 2 miles south of Lyme Regis, Dorset -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Teignmouth, Devon |
| Denham, Buckinghamshire (EGLD) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 5-4-1999 when crashed into the English Channel, two miles south of Lyme Regis, Dorset. The two persons on board (pilot and one passenger) sustained minor injuries. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report:
"Whilst en route from Teignmouth to Denham, and flying at 500 feet, the helicopter encountered deteriorating weather. The pilot stated that the flight had initially been in good visibility but he had then inadvertently flown into an area of mist. The pilot became disoriented and put the helicopter into a climb in an attempt to get clear. However, he then lost control but was able to recover when the helicopter came out between cloud layers.
The pilot contacted ATC and advised them of his situation and that he was not IMC rated. Because of the cloud, the pilot asked for radar vectors to the coast so that he would be able to descend over the sea. When clear of the coast the pilot commenced a descent but found he was unable to maintain a heading while descending on instruments. He again lost control and the helicopter began to turn back towards the cliffs in Lyme Bay. The helicopter continued to descend and impacted the sea in Lyme Bay in a tail low attitude shortly afterwards. After impacting the water the helicopter pitched forward and rolled over.
Both the pilot and passenger, who were wearing light clothing and did not have life jackets, managed to escape from the cabin and get on top of the up turned helicopter. Fortunately the helicopter continued to float and they were rescued by a fishing boat about 1 hour 20 minutes after the ditching. The accident happened in daylight (11:00 hours Local time) but in thick fog.
The pilot had watched television weather forecasts in the days preceding the flight but did not obtain a specific aviation forecast. The aviation forecast was for isolated areas of fog and drizzle in coastal areas with an expected 300 foot cloud base."
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "helicopter destroyed". As a result, the registration G-OPNI was cancelled by the CAA on 20-1-2000 as "Permanently withdrawn from use"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. CAA: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f569e5274a131400053b/dft_avsafety_pdf_500411.pdf
2. AAIB: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=OPNI
3. http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/support/flightsafety/pdf/destroyed.pdf
4. http://dorset.hampshireairfields.co.uk/dorcrash.html
5. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-OPNI.html
6. http://www.helicoptersafety.org/genericaccident.asp?ACType=B206
7. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/34700/
8. https://www.flickr.com/photos/paul-thallon/20093310848
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 15 November 1970 | VH-SJJ | Bristow Helicopters Pty Ltd | 0 | Margaret Beach, WA |  |
sub |
| 8 November 1991 | HB-XOR | Heli Geneve | 0 | Lausanne - LSGL |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2008 11:10 | ASN archive | Added |
| 17-Jan-2009 11:24 | harro | Updated |
| 11-Oct-2012 18:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Mar-2015 20:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Mar-2015 20:18 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 01-Jul-2016 19:35 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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