That particular Sea King had ditched at top hover weight at about 1 a.m. and had been kept rotors running on the sea for some four hours awaiting daybreak so that it could be craned aboard the carrier . When the crew eventually shut the aircraft down the waves were lapping over the tops of the sponsons. Shortly after, with a lot of water in the nose electrical bay and in the forward part of the cabin, the aircraft dipped its nose and turned over. The bags did their job but it was the taking on of so much water over several hours that caused the capsize.