What happened
The incident occurred during a maritime patrol mission conducted over The Channel. The aircraft was operating at night under poor weather conditions when it experienced a critical mechanical failure. Both engines ceased functioning simultaneously, leaving the crew with no thrust to maintain flight. In response to the loss of power, the pilot executed an emergency ditching procedure in the waters off Calais. As the airframe submerged and was subsequently lost, all four members of the crew were successfully extracted from the water and rescued.
Findings
The official investigation determined that the immediate cause of the accident was a double engine failure. This total loss of propulsion was attributed to the complete exhaustion of the aircraft's fuel supply during the operation.