Global InformationList of accidents and incidents involving the Westland Sea King information
| Accidents and incidents involving the Westland Sea King | |
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| Royal Air Force Sea King HAR3A |
This is a list of accidents and incidents involving the Westland Sea King helicopter, a British license-built and developed version of the American Sikorsky Sea King anti-submarine and utility helicopter,[1] As of 2012[update], Westland Sea Kings have been involved in forty-six significant accidents and incidents, involving forty-eight aircraft, during their service career. This total includes thirty accidents and incidents involving Royal Navy helicopters, one involving a helicopter operated by the Empire Test Pilot's School, two involving helicopters owned by the German Navy, three involving helicopters operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force, four were Sea Kings owned by the Indian Navy, one owned by the Pakistan Navy, and five involving Sea Kings operated by the Royal Australian Navy. Sixty-nine pilots and crewmembers have been killed in accidents involving Westland Sea Kings.
Of the accidents and incidents included in this list, six were caused by engine failure, while six flight-into-terrain accidents were recorded, with two additional hard landings resulting in serious damage to the aircraft. Seven more of the accidents and incidents were a result of problems in the helicopters' drive systems, while five others were caused by collisions, three of them being mid-air collisions - two with other Sea Kings, the third, with a Lockheed Hercules transport -, one a collision with the superstructure of a ship, and another a collision with a high-tension cable. Two accidents were the result of failure of the main rotor, with two others being caused by weather, while one accident each was caused by instrument failure, bird strike (presumed),[2] fuel exhaustion, and on-board fire; eleven other accidents and incidents did not mention a specific cause, simply that the helicopter involved crashed or ditched without further detail being provided.
- ^ Chant 1996, p.69
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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