Accident
The crew noticed an increased noise level in the flightdeck followed by a bang. Despite applying full cyclic pitch control the aircraft did not respond and nose-dived towards the sea from a height of 150 feet (46 m). The helicopter hit the sea, broke up and sank. A Coastguard search and rescue helicopter which had just departed Sumburgh Airport reported liferafts in the sea. It then observed a survivor clinging to a substantial piece of wreckage. While they winched the man on board another survivor was noted amongst the floating bodies. With no signs of other survivors the Coastguard helicopter flew the survivors to Lerwick for transfer to hospital. An air and sea search failed to find any more survivors but all the floating bodies were recovered to the airport.
Read more about this topic: 1986 British International Helicopters Chinook Crash
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