1993 Llyn Padarn helicopter crash

Helicopter crash in Wales August 2019 June 2017 53 07 31 N 4 07 46 W type:waterbody_region:GB title 12 August 1993 Westland Wessex HC2 (WS-58), UK - Air Force AN1933584.jpg A RAF Westland Wessex similar to the one involved. Tail rotor failure Accident Llyn Padarn Westland Wessex RAF XR524 4 3 4 3 The 1993 Llyn Padarn helicopter crash occurred on 12 August 1993, when an RAF Westland Wessex helicopter, serial number XR524, with 3 aircrew and 4 Air Training Corps cadet passengers on board suffered a catastrophic tail rotor failure and plunged into Llyn Padarn, a lake in North Wales.http://www.ukserials.com/pdflosses/maas_19930812_xr524.pdf Military Aircraft Accident Summary Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Three passengers were killed.Service for air crash victims http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/3139195.stm 14 June 2019 BBC 10 August 2003 Accident The aircraft departed RAF Valleyhttp://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/6213059.Only_survivor_tells_of_copter_crash_horror/?ref=arc Only survivor tells of copter crash horror The Bolton News 25 January 1996 on 12 August 1993, for a routine search and rescue training mission over North Wales. Aboard were three crewmembers and four Air Training Corps Cadets from Northern England. As they were flying over the lake, the pilot performed a planned autopilot failure simulation. However, the aircraft encountered a genuine emergency when it lost the drive to its tail rotor.On helicopters, the tail rotor is powered by the main engine through a shaft that goes the length of the tail boom. Without it to counteract the torque produced by the main rotor, the helicopter became uncontrollable and started spinning before impacting the water.Bourton Tom Watching tragedy unfold http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3139345.stm 14 June 2019 BBC 11 August 2003 The crash was caught on amateur video.Llanberis Helicopter Crash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDj6oYaYrR8 YouTube 4 March 2007 14 June 2019 The three crew and one cadet were able to escape the wreckage. She recounted: ...there was all this icy black water gushing in through the door. I didn't even have time to take a breath of air. I couldn't see anything and couldn't breathe. I remember feeling around for the door and not being able to find it. But somehow I got out and inflated my lifejacket. There was no chance to see what happened to any of the others.Doylerush Edward No Landing Place (Volume 2) 1999 Several persons, including a canoeing monitor rushed to the crash site and rescued the survivors. The three remaining occupants of the helicopter were presumably trapped in the wreckage and drowned. Investigation As the accident aircraft belonged to the RAF, the responsibility for investigating the crash lay not with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch but with the military. The Ministry of Defence released a report in November 1995. The RAF investigators determined the loss of power on the tail rotor to have been caused by two toothed flanges in the tail boom failing to engage properly. The tail of the Westland Wessex can be folded for storage and transport. The shaft that drives the tail rotor is broken and then remade by means of a disconnect coupling using two flanges. When the tail was last unfolded, the two flanges failed to mesh completely. It is hypothesized that the disconnection of the autopilot just prior the accident increased the stress on the tail section, triggering the failure. After the two halves of the transmission train became decoupled, the tail rotor was not powered and ceased functioning. The crew then had no means to control the aircraft. Beginning January 1996, a civilian inquest was also held in Llandudno. Aftermath thumb|The plaque For some time after the accident, all Westland Wessex in the United Kingdom were grounded for all but emergency use.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDj6oYaYrR8 Llanberis Helicopter Crash YouTube 4 March 2007 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1993/1993%20-%202075.html Wessex Grounding in Wake of Crash Flight International 25–31 August 1993 18 The grounding was eventually lifted and Westland Wessex re-entered service. As of 2000, at least one of the four recommendations made by the military board of inquiry as a result of the crash (simulator training for a tail rotor failure) had been implemented.http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2000/2000-1%20-%201873.html Simulation and rescue Flight International 21–27 November 2000 41 A plaque has been placed near the crash site. A memorial service was held there in 2003, for the tenth anniversary of the tragedy. Notes Note References Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Wales Llyn Padarn helicopter crash Llyn Padarn helicopter crash Llyn Padarn helicopter crash Llyn Padarn helicopter crash Category:Accidents and incidents involving military helicopters Category:Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft