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| Date: | Wednesday 13 July 1988 |
| Time: | 14:28 |
| Type: |  Sikorsky S-61N-II |
| Owner/operator: | British International Helicopters |
| Registration: | G-BEID |
| MSN: | 61223 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1964 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 21 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | North Sea, 29.5 nautical miles NE of Sumburgh, Shetland Isles -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | Safe Felicia, Semi-Submersible Vessel, Forties Oil Field, North Sea |
| Sumburgh Airport, Shetland (LSI/EGPB) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 13/7/1988: Made controlled ditching in the North Sea 29.5 nautical miles north east of Sumburgh, Shetland Islands, following engine fire. All 21 persons on board (2 crew and 19 passengers) were rescued before the aircraft sank. The wreckage was later recovered for accident investigation. According to contemporary reports, and the AAIB report into the accident:
"The helicopter left the Safe Felicia semi-submersible oil rig in the Forties oilfield at 13:45 with 2 pilots and a full load of 19 passengers for the one hour flight to Sumburgh Airport on the Mainland of Shetland. At 14:28 the co-pilot (who was flying) reported hearing a muffled bang which was also heard by some of the passengers, from the area of the No. 2 engine transmission. Shortly after, the No. 2 engine's fire warning lights came on. The pilot immediately began a descent and transmitted a distress call.
About 48 seconds after the noise, the No. 2 engine was shut down and the fire extinguisher triggered. The No. 1 engine fire warning then also illuminated, while passengers saw oil leaking from the cabin ceiling. The pilot advised the passengers to prepare for an emergency ditching and took control of the aircraft. The floats were deployed and a gentle ditching was made about 3 minutes after the initial noise had been heard, by which time the helicopter's cabin had filled with smoke. All 21 occupants evacuated on to life rafts and were then winched up into a Search and Rescue helicopter. After a strong fire consumed most of the floating helicopter, the remains broke up and sank."
Same failure mode occurred on G-BBHM.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/5422f983e5274a1317000795/Sikorsky_S-61N__G-BEID_01-89.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_British_International_Helicopters_Sikorsky_S-61N_crash
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/17148/
Media:
The bearing then broke up, in turn causing the high speed drive shaft to the MGB to bend around its flexible coupling until the coupling severed the support tube between engine and MGB. The heat from that ignited the leaking engine oil... pic.twitter.com/YkyNCybEB9
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) July 13, 2024
As the support tube ran through the fire wall around the engine made it out into MGB bay. As the MGB was made of magnesium?...
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) July 13, 2024
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Dec-2009 10:23 | TB | Added |
| 30-Dec-2009 11:23 | TB | Updated |
| 28-May-2013 17:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Jun-2013 10:00 | TB | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Jan-2016 19:39 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Jan-2016 19:55 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Source, ] |
| 07-Jan-2016 19:56 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, ] |
| 30-Jul-2019 07:28 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 13-Jul-2024 16:13 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
| 13-Jul-2024 16:13 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 13-Jul-2024 16:16 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Jul-2024 16:33 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ] |
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