ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 175161
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| Date: | Friday 14 November 1997 |
| Time: | 18:13 |
| Type: |  Agusta-Bell 206B JetRanger |
| Owner/operator: | Stephenson Marine Co Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BAKS |
| MSN: | 8339 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1972 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cocking Hill, near Chichester, West Sussex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Goodwood Airfield (QUG/EGHR) |
| Goodwood Airfield (QUG/EGHR) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 14 November 1997 when crashed in fog, whilst flying at low level at Cocking Hill, near Chichester, West Sussex. According to the following extracts from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"At about 18:10 hours a number of witnesses heard a helicopter flying south over the village of Cocking. This village is 11 km to the north of Goodwood Airfield. All of the eyewitnesses, who were familiar with helicopter flight over the village, describe the helicopter as being unusually low and slow. A professional pilot, who had a clear view of the helicopter, estimated it to be between 50 to 100 feet above the ground and flying at a speed of about 10 knots.
The helicopter appeared to be following the A286 road south out of the village towards Chichester, the road was reasonably busy at the time with a steady stream of traffic in both directions and the helicopter was displaced about 50 metres to the west of the road which rises steeply to the south of the village. The weather conditions in the village at the time were described as 'murky and dark' with some light drizzle.
At about 18:15 hours, a farmer heard a helicopter fly very low over his cottage which is situated on a crest of the South Downs, one kilometre to the south of the village of Cocking. He ran outside and shone a hand-held torch at the helicopter which was directly above him. The helicopter was low enough for the underside to be clearly illuminated by the beam. The helicopter engine sounded normal although it was unusually loud since it was so low.
The noise of the helicopter appeared to commence a right turn back to the north; very shortly afterwards there was a loud thump and then silence. A neighbour, who had also come outside having heard the low flying helicopter, saw the helicopter for the first time in the instant that it struck the ground about 150 metres away; she then contacted the emergency services and this call was logged at 18:16 hours. The emergency services arrived at 18:30 hours but the pilot had already died from multiple injuries. The helicopter had struck the ground in a ploughed field at an altitude of 357 feet amsl, some 300 metres to the west of the A286 road which it had apparently been following."
The AAIB report confirms that G-BAKS was "destroyed"; as a result the registration G-BAKS was belatedly cancelled by the CAA on 21 March 2001 (over three years later) as "destroyed".
NOTE: G-BAKS was the helicopter that featured in the stunt flying "pre-titles sequence" of the 1981 James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". The filming was undertaken at the Becton Gas Works site in east London on 3 November 1980 (see link #4 below)
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fbbee5274a131400080f/dft_avsafety_pdf_501372.pdf
2. Aberdeen Press and Journal - Saturday 15 November 1997
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=3561
4. http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=For_Your_Eyes_Only
5. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-BAKS/826565
6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/leicester-vehicle-photography/9903271725
7. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=17443.0
8. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-BAKS/826566
9. https://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/product/bell-206-jetranger
10. https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Bell_206_JetRanger#For_Your_Eyes_Only_(film)
Media:
G-BAKS Bell Jet ranger II Dollars @ Coventry 25-07-1989:Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Apr-2015 21:48 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 06-Apr-2015 21:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 15-Apr-2016 08:45 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Location] |
| 21-Jun-2016 14:46 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 05-Aug-2022 15:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 05-Aug-2022 15:54 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
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