2006 Morecambe Bay Eurocopter AS365 crash
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 27 December 2006 |
| Summary | Descent into sea due to pilot error |
| Site | Morecambe Bay, Irish Sea 53°57′22″N 003°40′12″W / 53.95611°N 3.67000°W |
| Aircraft type | Eurocopter SA-365N Dauphin 2 |
| Operator | CHC Helicopter |
| Registration | G-BLUN |
| Flight origin | Blackpool Airport |
| Destination | Morecambe Bay gas platforms |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 6 (6 confirmed, 1 missing) |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The 2006 Morecambe Bay Helicopter Crash was a fatal air incident that occurred on 27 December 2006 at approximately 18:40 GMT,[1] whilst replacement crew were being transported between the Millom West and North Morecambe gas platforms situated approximately 24 miles from the shoreline of Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, England.
Rescue efforts recovered the bodies of six men, including those of the two pilots. A seventh passenger was initially recorded as missing;[2] however, the search for the missing man was called off on 24 January 2007.[3]
The helicopter was a Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, registration G-BLUN, owned by CHC Helicopter. The aircraft was contracted by Centrica, the company that manages the gas platform to which the helicopter was traveling.
Initial rescue was undertaken by an emergency response rescue vessel Highland Sprite (E.R.R.V) and her two onboard fast rescue craft and later by Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescue service, operating out of nearby Lytham St Annes[2] and was coordinated by HM Coastguard.
Investigation
The investigation into the crash started the same night as the accident. The flight data recorders were eventually recovered on 17 January 2007 after severe weather hampered recovery attempts. The storms also hampered efforts to find and recover those lost in the incident. A lot of speculation started to appear into the possible causes for the tragic crash. Because offshore helicopter operations are so crucial to the day to day running of offshore platforms, the AAIB felt it necessary to release a preliminary bulletin as soon as possible. A special bulletin released by the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) (S1/2007) stated: "The conclusion of this preliminary examination is that there are no signs of pre-impact malfunction of any major mechanical components, including the tail rotor and its drive shaft."
The formal report into the accident,[4] released in October 2008, stated that "human factors" were the cause of the crash. The co-pilot, who was the handling pilot at the time, complained he felt unwell and that he was running into difficulties. He asked the commander for assistance, whereupon the commander took control of the helicopter. However, the transfer of control from co-pilot to commander was roughly four seconds after the co-pilot had initially noted that he was unwell but did not articulate this correctly. When the co-pilot asked for assistance in the correct and concise manner, thus allowing the commander to understand the request, the transfer to the commander was immediate. The report found that the transfer of control wasn't smooth enough due to the co-pilot not initially articulating his need clearly and that the commander wasn't "mentally primed to take control of the helicopter." The report concluded that:
"During the attempted recovery of the helicopter from its unusual attitude the commander was devoid of any external visual cues and was possibly distracted over concerns for the well-being of his co-pilot. Concerns for his co-pilot and some degree of disorientation possibly distracted the commander from his usual instrument scan to the extent that he did not notice the increasing angle of bank to the right and the helicopter's continuing descent into the sea."
— AAIB Report No: 7/2008[4]
References
- ^ "BBC News". BBC News. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ a b RNLI news item Template:Wayback
- ^ Search for last body called off – Morecambe Today – Obtained 24 January 2007. [dead link]
- ^ a b Report No: 7/2008, Air Accident Investigations Branch