NEWS: Navy Rescue Helicopter Crashes Into The Sea

A British Royal Air force helicopter with a flight crew of four crashed into the sea today. The Lynx helicopter based out of RNAS Culdrose, near Helston, had been out on a search for a British seamen that had apparently fallen from a British warship. Contact was lost with the Lynx just after 7 pm when it was 15 miles southeast of the Lizard peninsula. The helicopter had been fitted with a location beacon to begin transmitting if it where to crash. RAF Kinloss which co-ordinates search and rescue has had two Navy helicopters, one RAF helicopter, and two French Falcon scrambled for search and rescue and a lifeboat was also launched from Falmouth. It has been established by the two frigates in the area, the Montrose and the St. Albans that there was not a man over board as originally thought. "It's a bit of a mystery," a spokesperson had said.




It is unknown if the four crewmen have been found yet. Hopefully they will be found in good health.





[edit on 8-12-2004 by Banshee]

Wreckage Found In Chopper Search.

A LIFEBOAT crew searching for a British navy helicopter that crashed off the coast of England said today they had found pieces of wreckage.

The Royal Navy Lynx helicopter carrying four people went down off Cornwall, a rural province in southwestern England, the Royal Air Force and the Ministry of Defence said. There was no immediate word on the fate of the crewmen.

The crew of a lifeboat had recovered pieces of wreckage from the sea and detected "a strong smell of aviation fuel" in the water, a spokeswoman for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said.

www.news.com.au...

The situation does not look hopeful, but until there is confirmation either way there is still hope.

This is strange...
Xinhua: US helicopter with 10 aboard crashes into Bering Sea (www.chinaview.cn 2004-12-09 16:44:06).
And about two weeks ago, there was a norwegian rescue helicopter which crashed into a lake in Norway as well (all survived in this one). Helicopters falling into water everywhere...

An update for you all.

Its a shame, but the crew have been found dead.

news.bbc.co.uk...