Just heard that a Bond BO105 has gone down in the sea off Orkney whilst working at the lighthouse.

My hopes go out to all crew, one of whom is missing at time of writing.

This from Scotland Today news :

Helicopter ditches into North Sea.

A helicopter has ditched into the North sea off the mainland of Orkney.
It is believed the crash happened around 11.20am, at the Brough of Birsay, which is north west of Orkney. The cause is not yet clear.

A spokesman for Northern Lighthouse Board, which is responsible for Scottish lighthouses, said that the four-seater Bolkow 105 helicopter, which had been contracted from Bond Helicopters, had been carrying out work at the mainland lighthouse at the Brough of Birsay.

He did not know how many people were on board the helicopter or if any maintenance workers were on the helicopter.

A spokesman for Orkney Islands Council said he believed that two people had been aboard the aircraft, which had been involved in routine maintenance work at the lighthouse.

A coastguard helicopter from Stornoway and an RAF rescue helicopter from Lossiemouth have been scrambled to the scene. Lifeboats from Stromness and Kirkwall have been sent to the scene and Balfour Hospital has been informed and is on standby.

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update believed that of the 2 people on board the crewman managed to get to shore and called rescue services they are still trying to locate the pilot at this time. Hopes and prayers go out for the safe return. have a couple of friends who do the NLB.

Fingers crossed
Deeko01

Not looking good. Divers now on location. According to BBC news, aircraft was underslinging. BBC reports that only the pilot was on board.

Keep praying.

Click here for a bbc news story.

Unfortunately rescue teams searching for the pilot of a helicopter which crashed off Orkney have recovered a body.

Prayers to the family..

The pilot has now been named as Anthony Taylor from Insch, in Aberdeenshire.
Peter Bond, Chairman of Bond Helicopters, said Captain Taylor, aged 53, was an experienced and highly regarded pilot who had been with Bond for more than 20 years.
The helicopter was on lease to Northern Lighthouse Board and was being used to carry out work at the unmanned Brough of Birsay lighthouse, in the north-west of Orkney.
A major search operation - involving a coastguard helicopter, lifeboats, a RAF helicopter and a number of fishing vessels - was launched after the accident. Mr Taylor's body was recovered by divers at 1416 BST lying in 10 metres of water about 150 metres offshore.

I'm sure our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Taylor's family at this very sad time.

Tony was such a nice guy. We will miss him. My thoughts are with his family and work-mates. Especially the crewman who witnessed the crash.

If anyone hears of the funeral arrangements, please post them here.

Tony was one of aviation's gentlemen, he will be sadly missed by all who new him and worked with him.

I never met Tony Taylor, but all I heard about him was very complimentary.
My sympathies to his family and friends.

our sympathies go out to all Tony's family and friends.
A sensitive question, but does anybody know where Ed is living now? We are old friends of Tony and Ed, but lost contact when we went overseas.

All our sympathy go out to his partner and his family---from all his old friends in the south. As TeeS has already said "one of aviation's gentlemen" He was a great pilot and this is a tragic loss to Bond and to the NLB.

A sad day & a tragic event.

My heart, prayers & thoughts are with his family, friends & colleagues.

Very Sad. Can somebody confirm that this is Tony Taylor ex 669 AAC in detmold, left in about 82/83 to go to 10 Regt

This is his eldest daughter Vivien,

I have been pointed to this site by a family friend and appreciate all your comments.

It was Tony Taylor from Detmold 669 squadron.

My mum, Edwina, is in Scotland and can be contacted on:
01358 723 137

The funeral is on Wednesday the 5th June at 2pm in Buckie. The funeral directors contact details are Patrick Dowd 01466 794 770 if more details are required.

- Vivien.

Our thoughts are with you, your sister and you mum, Vivien. I know I have aready said this above, but your Dad was a really nice guy and he will be missed. Many of his old friends will be at his funeral on Wednesday.

Thanks and condolences Vivien. He was definitely one of the nicest guys in the business

It is with great sadness that I heard of Capt Taylors death and I wish to forward my sincerest condolences to his family & friends.....

I had the honor to fly as a copilot to Tony in '85. I have a lasting impression of how He made the job most enjoyable. An excellent training Captain. The family can truely be very proud. Its the North Sea that's unforgiving.

Condolences to all as a fellow pilot and ex 669 (84-86)

Does anybody have any update on the likely causes of this accident?

The old 105 has been around for a long time and is a reliable old workhorse but it maybe time to look hard at a replacement.

Brother

How nice that the Bolkow will go down in history as a reliable old workhorse. I would much rather fly in something regarded as such than something with the latest technology but with lower regard.

I recently saw the wreckage at the AAIB at Farnborough and I understand that the report is due soon. Remember that the AAIB remit is not to apportion blame but to report the cause and effect so that others may learn.

What I was discouraged to see was that the load was inadvertantly configured to form a big flat plate, and probably acted as such aerodynamically. Those of us with Load-slinging experience know that this is the worst case scenario.

RIP Tony.