Missing Twin Squirrel: Wales/Ireland
 

HM Coastguard have posted about a missing twin squirrel and searches in the Caernarfon Bay area. R936 and R187 believed to be at work there.

http://hmcoastguard.********.co.uk/2...ng-search.html

The link doesn't work (due to bl0gspot link). Here's the text:

Wednesday, 29 March 2017
UK Coastguard co-ordinating search operation for overdue privately owned helicopter
UK Coastguard is currently co-ordinating a search and rescue operation for an overdue helicopter in the Caernarfon Bay area.

The privately owned twin squirrel red helicopter with five people on board is believed to have left Milton Keynes earlier today on route to Dublin, via Caernarfon Bay.

Earlier this afternoon, Distress and Diversion lost radar contact of the helicopter, and after contacting all airbases with no sightings or radio contact, the UK Coastguard were notified at 4.15pm to start a search operation.

The UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Caernarfon has carried out an extensive land based search of fields and airfields within the Caernarfon area and the helicopter based at St Athan has joined the search this evening. A Mayday Relay broadcast has been issued to all vessels passing through the Irish Sea route to contact the Coastguard if they have seen anything. A search of the Irish sea route is commencing this evening. The North Wales Police have also been notified of the search operation.

UK Coastguard Duty Commander Peter Davies said: ‘We have established a search plan between Caernarfon Bay and the shore of Dublin and currently have two Coastguard helicopters searching the route. We are in the process of contacting all the vessels in the Irish Sea that were in the vicinity around midday and we are continuing Mayday broadcast action for any vessels currently in the area to contact us if they have further information. At the moment we are appealing to these vessels and to the public that if they have seen a twin squirrel red helicopter to please contact 999 and ask for the Coastguard.’

Better link:
http://hmcoastguard.********.co.uk

Maybe not, but Bravo73 has it.

Helicopter reported missing over the Irish Sea
 

News flash just issued by Irish RTE of a "twin squirrel" enroute Milton Keynes to Dublin with 5 on board, missing over Irish Sea.
Reported UK Coastguard search in Caernarfon Bay Area.

G-OHCP is what I have been told. GINFO Search Results

Don't think you should publicise the reg, FSX.

Current weather is not great in that area

Anglesey showing 21 knot wind from the south and rain

Dublin is better at 7 knots from southeast and cloudy/dry

Without having to look it up, what are the max wind operation conditions for a Twin Squirrel?

CG187 is showing on FR24 but thats the only aircraft that is visible in the area at this time, its flying at 3950ft heading south overland towards Chwilog, thats a long way south of Caenarfon

Unfortunately, a google images search for "red AS355 UK" produces the same results. A G-INFO search of the reg confirms the owner's address as a construction company in Milton Keynes.

Pretty poor taste misleading photo for the headline given what happened at Blackrock:

Missing helicopter search under way at Caernarfon Bay - BBC News

CG187 "appears" to be returning to base at Cardiff looking at their current track on FR24, there are no other aircraft/helicopters registering in the Caenarfon Bay area at the moment

My thoughts exactly ND.. You would think they could get it right in this modern age.

Daily Mail is showing photo's of the helicopter now

Helicopter carrying five goes missing in North Wales | Daily Mail Online

The photo caption says "HM Coastguard helicopters are searching for the missing aircraft", so the photo is very appropriate.

Perhaps you only look at pictures? :E

A vague headline with a big photo is very different to a specfic small caption underneath

Pretty sure the general public is unaware of events in Ireland, and if the photo had been a yellow Seaking would not immediately think one had crashed.

R187 was up there and shown on ADS-B 2 or 3 hours ago. R936 may not show up on these as the ADS-B for most of the S-92 SAR fleet was tweaked during the early months of the service not to show. Most of them show up on AIS but you'd have to find a current track or find the MMSI.

Marine Traffic is not showing any search going on at this time, all RNLI vessels, Rig service ships and commercial shipping is either sat in port or continuing normal steaming

Weather is not wonderful and a dark red helicopter, as photographed in Daily Mail earlier, will be close to impossible to spot in the dark even with an EPIRB on board the helicopter that may or may not have activated...if it went down overland, any search would have been ceased when it went dark and resumed at first light

Don't mean to be insensitive, but given that we were all mandated to carry elt/plb might have thought that there would be some indications...

Gold Star for BBC Online: it is actually a photo of R936 from Caernarfon.