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| Date: | Tuesday 10 September 1963 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Westland Wessex HAS1 (S-58T) |
| Owner/operator: | 814 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | XM925 |
| MSN: | WA/46 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Gulf of Aden, 10 miles off HMS Victrorious. -
 Yemen
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | HMS Victorious, Gulf of Aden |
Westland Wessex HAS.1 XM925 '347/V; of 814 Squadron, FAA RN, based aboard HMS Victorious. Written off (destroyed) 10 September 1963: Aircraft took off in pitch dark conditions and flew some ten miles ahead of ship for sonar searches. On descending to hover height, ball was lowered and the sensing forks the cable passed through were giving false readings to the computer. The aircraft nosed forward excessively, and then back; just as the pilot said he was pulling up, the tail hit the water and cartw6heeled the whole aircraft into the sea, nose-diving straight under. All four crew escaped, and were recovered by sea boat dispatched from HMS Eskimo
Crew of Wessex XM925:
Sub-Lt F A Rock - survived with injuries
Sub Lt J E Yates - survived with injuries
Lt C H D Crooke-Preist - recovered uninjured
Able Seaman P J S Speck - recovered uninjured
Aircraft sank and not recovered. Struck off charge as Cat.ZZ 19.6.63. Total airframe time 461.50
Sources:
1. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1963.htm
2. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/12174/
3. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=XM
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Aden
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 11-Feb-2011 05:50 | TB | Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Sep-2011 14:12 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Mar-2012 10:04 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 31-May-2018 17:54 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 13-Jun-2022 23:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 19-Jun-2022 17:30 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 21-Jun-2022 10:41 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Operator, ] |
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