COASTGUARD HELICOPTER DESTROYED AFTER ENGINE FIRE

 

Bristows Coastguard Helicopter The burnt out wreckage

A £4m coastguard helicopter has been written off after its engine caught fire while it was in the middle of a rescue.

The Portland Coastguard crew had to evacuate the helicopter after making an emergency landing at the Royal Marine barracks in Poole on Monday 15th July. Flames consumed so much of the helicopter's engine that the aircraft will have to be scrapped, said a spokesman for the Marine and Coastguard Agency. The rescue crew were out searching for a man believed to have fallen out of his dinghy in Poole Harbour, Dorset when the pilot reported engine difficulties. The helicopter was a quarter of a mile out to sea when it had to turn back to make an emergency landing.

A Dorset police helicopter was scrambled to continue the search for the missing man.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch has been informed but other Sikorsky S61N helicopters based at Lee-on-the Solent, Stornoway and Sumburgh will not be grounded, the spokesman said. A spokesman for Bristow helicopters, which leases the specially-equipped helicopters, said: "This has never happened before. "It has an excellent safety record. It's a hugely reliable aircraft which is why they are used for search and rescue operations and they are regularly overhauled and maintained."

The pilot of a £4m coastguard helicopter which was written off after its engine caught fire, described how he watched it turn into a "smouldering heap" minutes after he made an emergency landing. Minutes later it was a burnt-out wreck.

Captain Simon Hoare said he was lucky to be alive. He told BBC Radio Solent: "We were very fortunate to be where we were and to have spotted the Royal Marines' sports pitch. "We got out of the aircraft to see it ablaze around the gearbox area. "We landed at 1617 BST and it was a smouldering heap 10 minutes later. "So it burnt to the ground pretty quickly but it didn't hinder our getting out at all."

The rescue crew was out searching for a man believed to have fallen out of his dinghy in Poole Harbour when Mr Hoare reported engine difficulties. Mr Hoare described how, first one engine caught fire and then the hydraulic system failed, and then the second engine caught fire as they made an emergency landing.