ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 189319
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| Date: | Friday 26 August 2005 |
| Time: | 15:37 |
| Type: |  Robinson R-22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Plane Talking Ltd |
| Registration: | G-CBPT |
| MSN: | 3329 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-360-J2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near the Prince Consort Buoy, ½ nm off Cowes, Isle of Wight -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire (EGHF) |
| Blackbushe, Hampshire (BBS/EGLK) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 23-08-2005 when ditched due a loss of power following suspected drive belt failure. Aircraft auto-rotated into the Solent and sank, near the Prince Consort Buoy, ½ nautical mile off Cowes, Isle of Wight. Both persons on board (pilot and one passenger) managed to escape unaided and without injury; they were rescued almost immediately by a "safety boat" which was in the area, "shadowing" a power boat race. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The pilot intended to conduct a sightseeing flight, with a friend, in a helicopter hired from a flying training organisation at Blackbushe. Earlier in the day he had flown with an instructor in order to satisfy the currency requirements of the training organisation. During this flight the pilot practiced several manoeuvres including simulated engine failures.
He then refuelled the helicopter and departed at 1110 hrs for a flight of approximately 30 minutes duration to a private landing site near Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, where he had arranged to meet his passenger. He subsequently departed at 15:25 hours and planned to fly along the nearby coast; however, on approaching Lee-on-Solent he found that there was gliding activity at that airfield and he therefore decided to fly south towards the Isle of Wight.
Approaching Cowes from the north, the pilot turned to the right in order to return to the private landing site. The pilot reported that after completing the turn there was a loud bang which appeared to come from above and behind his head; the helicopter lurched and the controls became slack. It was apparent that power to the rotors had been lost and the helicopter was no longer flying normally.
Although he did not recall the manoeuvre clearly, the pilot believed that the helicopter had turned left from a northerly onto a westerly heading. He immediately lowered the collective and entered an auto-rotation, noting that the airspeed indicator was reading zero. As ditching was inevitable, the pilot told his passenger to loosen his seatbelt and open his door while making the same preparations himself. His priority was to land the helicopter as close as possible to one of a number of boats present in the area to increase the chance of a rapid rescue.
He was able to make a controlled touch down beside the Prince Consort Buoy, at the entrance to Cowes Harbour. The helicopter started to fill with water immediately and sank quickly below the surface; however, both occupants were able to vacate the helicopter unaided and without injury. They were rescued almost immediately."
Nature of Damage to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Helicopter sank intact". An attempt was made four days after the accident (30-08-2005) to locate the wreckage, but it could not be found in the area where it sank. The AAIB report notes "A survey of the seabed, using side-scan sonar, commenced on the fourth day after the accident in order to assess the possibility of recovering the helicopter or its wreckage. Nothing was identified that was considered likely to be part of G-CBPT. The average tidal movement in a twelve hour period was assessed as approximately 1 knot to the west, indicating that any wreckage which had not become anchored or obstructed would have travelled 6 nautical miles or more downstream of the point of impact since the time of the accident...No wreckage was recovered".
As a result, the registration G-CBPT was cancelled by the CAA on 22-08-2006 as "Permanently withdrawn from use"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422efd540f0b61342000271/Robinson_R22_Beta__G-CBPT_04-06.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=CBPT
3. CAA Safety Recommendation: https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/Factor200620.pdf
4. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidents.aspx?ACType=R22
5. https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/187495-cowes-crash.html
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/4189260.stm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Aug-2016 21:59 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 16-Aug-2016 22:10 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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