Originally Posted by
76fan
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.
Funny how our recollections differ over a span of many years: I was top cover for 051 after the ditching and was also SSEO, responsible for the dinghy and bolt croppers that the ships divers 'borrowed' to go to the machine when it couldn't raise the sonar body, thus preventing an attempt at a SE take off. The cable was duly cut with the bolt croppers; the loss of the stabilising effect of the sonar allowed a roll to build up in the long swell. Eventually the SK was shut down, abandoned and left to its own devices.
Jerry G was my co-pilot, we were instructed in no uncertain terms by Flyco to remain at least 1nm clear in case we turned it over with our downwash
But we're wandering OT.........