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| Date: | Thursday 12 March 1981 |
| Time: | c. 15:12 LT |
| Type: |  Sikorsky S-76A |
| Owner/operator: | Bristow Helicopters |
| Registration: | G-BGXY |
| MSN: | 760021 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | South Kirkton, near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Aberdeen Airport, Dyce (ABZ/EGPD) |
| Aberdeen Airport, Dyce (ABZ/EGPD) | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Broke up in flight after a main rotor blade separated due to a fatigue failure of the spindle, killing all four persons on board.
Blade spindle loading had increased due to wear of a dry lubricated bearing and load had increased due to a deburring technique that did not replicate that tested during certification.
AAIB recommended that spindles be inspected after 200 flying hours, instead of 300, and replaced completely after 300 hours.
Another S-76A (PT-HKB) had crashed on 23 Mar 1980 after a spindle failure. AAIB note that G-BGXY suffered its failure 12 Mar 1981 prior to maintenance instructions for a dimensional check being issued after the accident to PT-HKB (though they had been drafted some months prior).
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-BGXY.pdf
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=33292
https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/9-1983-sikorsky-s-76a-spirit-g-bgxy-12-march-1981
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 11-Jun-2010 12:32 | TB | Updated [Date, Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Plane category, ] |
| 17-Nov-2012 13:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-Nov-2012 12:09 | TB | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 04-Jun-2013 17:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Oct-2015 18:28 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Mar-2016 18:24 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-May-2016 13:20 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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