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| Date: | Friday 3 December 1999 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bell 212 |
| Owner/operator: | Maldivian Air Taxi |
| Registration: | 8Q-MAY |
| MSN: | 30887 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | off Rangali, Alifu Dhaalu Atoll -
 Maldives
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Hilton Hotel resort |
| Male | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Night VFR operations. The Bell 212 helicopter departed the heliport on Rangali Island, at about 0300 Maldives standard time (MST), with two pilots, a flight attendant, and seven passengers on board, to conduct a transportation flight to Male airport. Soon after the helicopter took off, witnesses report that it turned and headed back toward the
heliport in a descent with a nose-down attitude. It then descended more rapidly and disappeared into the ocean.
Limited visual cues, for the pilot to assess height above the water, may have contributed to the helicopter striking the water with high vertical descent and minimal rotor speed. The impact forces were not survivable and the helicopter sank. All occupants suffered fatal injuries due to vertical impact forces.
The TSB report suggests a complex sequence of electrical issues at fault. Subsequent reports and inspections found the aircraft was refueled by barrels prior to this flight, and during this the hand pump jammed up from contaminants. The aircraft crashed with throttles wide open, and all switches in the normal position.
Sources:
TSB Aviation Occurrence Report prepared for DGCA of Maldives.
Air Britain News Jan 2000
Air International January 2000, p14
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 25 July 1981 | C-GSBQ | 0 | Yates Tower, AB |  |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 16-May-2010 02:12 | JINX | Updated [Location, Country, Phase, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Jan-2012 03:18 | Anon. | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Oct-2017 15:41 | TB | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 03-Jun-2022 07:47 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
| 17-Oct-2025 10:31 | Anon. | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 17-Oct-2025 10:34 | Anon. | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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