1988 British International Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N crash

Helicopter crash with no fatalities

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Sikorsky S-61N G-BEID
Accident
British International Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N G-BFRI, sister ship of the accident helicopter
Date	13 July 1988
Summary	Forced water landing due to uncontrolled engine fire
Site	29 nmi (54 km; 33 mi) northeast of Sumburgh, Scotland
Aircraft type	Sikorsky S-61N
Operator	British International Helicopters
Registration	G-BEID
Flight origin	Safe Felicia accommodation vessel
Destination	Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands
Passengers	19
Crew	2
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	21

G-BEID was a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter of British International Helicopters which made a controlled ditching in the sea 29 nmi (54 km; 33 mi) northeast of Sumburgh on 13 July 1988 following an engine fire. There were no fatalities.

Accident

The helicopter left the Safe Felicia semi-submersible oil platform 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 liferafts 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.

Investigation

A recovery operation was mounted using the DSV (diving support vessel) Stena Marianos which arrived on site on 16 July 1988. The aft fuselage section was raised the following day and the forward section shortly after. The recovery operation had to be ended on 19 July before finding the engines or transmission components due to the Stena Marianos having other commitments.

The recovery continued on 2 August using the DSV Norskald, and the engines, main rotor, and transmission were located and raised on 5 August.

Cause

It was concluded that the fire had occurred in the helicopter's main gearbox, probably resulting from the effects of a bearing failure in the No. 2 engine. A further factor was the lack of fire detection or suppression capability within the gearbox bay. The cause of the bearing failure could not be definitely established.

Safety recommendations

The AAIB made a list of 27 safety recommendations to the CAA. These addressed improvements in maintenance, early detection of problems, emergency escape equipment, documentation and training provisions, and firewall integrity. Most of these were accepted by the CAA.

Notes

CAP 594 Archived 17 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Civil Aviation Authority May 1991

References

"Report name: 3/1990 Sikorsky S61N, G-BEID" (PDF). Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1988 (1988)
Jan 2 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 699Jan 18 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146Jan 19 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286Jan 24 Aeroflot Flight 29674Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 132Feb 8 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108Feb 19 AVAir Flight 3378Feb 27 Talia Airways Boeing 727 crashMar 1 Comair Flight 206Mar 4 TAT Flight 230Mar 8 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 17 Avianca Flight 410Apr 5 Kuwait Airways Flight 422Apr 28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243May 6 Widerøe Flight 710May 24 TACA Flight 110Jun 12 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046Jun 23 British Army Lynx shootdownJun 26 Air France Flight 296QJul 3 Iran Air Flight 655Jul 13 BIH Sikorsky S-61N crashAug 17 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqAug 28 Ramstein air show disasterAug 31 CAAC Flight 301Aug 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141Sep 9 Vietnam Airlines Flight 831Sep 15 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604Oct 17 Uganda Airlines Flight 775Oct 19 Indian Airlines Flight 113Nov 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703Dec 8 Remscheid A-10 crashDec 11 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashDec 21 Pan Am Flight 103
1987 ◄ ► 1989

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1988 (1988)

Jan 2 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 699Jan 18 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146Jan 19 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286Jan 24 Aeroflot Flight 29674Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 132Feb 8 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108Feb 19 AVAir Flight 3378Feb 27 Talia Airways Boeing 727 crashMar 1 Comair Flight 206Mar 4 TAT Flight 230Mar 8 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 17 Avianca Flight 410Apr 5 Kuwait Airways Flight 422Apr 28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243May 6 Widerøe Flight 710May 24 TACA Flight 110Jun 12 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046Jun 23 British Army Lynx shootdownJun 26 Air France Flight 296QJul 3 Iran Air Flight 655Jul 13 BIH Sikorsky S-61N crashAug 17 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqAug 28 Ramstein air show disasterAug 31 CAAC Flight 301Aug 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141Sep 9 Vietnam Airlines Flight 831Sep 15 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604Oct 17 Uganda Airlines Flight 775Oct 19 Indian Airlines Flight 113Nov 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703Dec 8 Remscheid A-10 crashDec 11 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashDec 21 Pan Am Flight 103

1987 ◄ ► 1989

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom in the 1980s
1980	Biggin Hill Invader crash (September 1980)
1981	Aer Lingus Flight 164 (May 1981) Dan-Air Flight 240 (June 1981) Bristow Helicopters Westland Wessex crash (August 1981)
1982	British Army Gazelle friendly fire incident (June 1982)*
1983	British Airways Sikorsky S-61 crash (July 1983)
1985	Manchester Airport disaster (August 1985)
1986	Hindawi affair (April 1986)
1988	British Army Lynx shootdown (June 1988) British International Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N crash (July 1988) Pan Am Flight 103 (December 1988) template
1989	Kegworth air disaster (January 1989)
Accidents and incidents in Crown Dependencies and current Overseas Territories are marked with an asterisk (*). 1970–1979 ◄ 1980–1989 ► 1990–1999

60°17′N 0°44′W / 60.283°N 0.733°W / 60.283; -0.733

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