History of the Flight
The pilot, aged 54, held a Private Pilot's Licence with 330 hours total flying experience, of which 220 were on type. He had flown 10 hours in the last 90 days and 4 hours in the last 28 days. The helicopter, a Bell 206B Jet Ranger III (G-BXLI), was manufactured in 1989 and powered by one Allison 250-C20J turboshaft engine. It was part-owned by the pilot.
The flight departed from Staverton Airport, near Gloucester, on 22 January 2005 at a time before the airport officially opened. The intended destination was a private landing site in the Torbay area, where the pilot planned to spend the day on his boat before returning to Staverton at about 1800 hrs. The outbound route took the helicopter south via the Bristol Channel and the M5 corridor at various altitudes. Weather was good at Staverton but deteriorated as the aircraft approached Torbay. The helicopter transited overhead Exeter Airport at 0923 hrs and, upon encountering poor weather further south, the pilot elected to land in a playing field at Topsham, 3.5 nm south-south-west of Exeter Airport, at 0929 hrs. He informed Exeter ATC that the cloud was "DOWN TO THE GROUND" south of Exeter. The pilot and his three passengers left the helicopter and sought a café to wait for improved weather.
After about two and a half hours, the pilot decided to return to Staverton, having confirmed that the weather there remained suitable. The group boarded the helicopter, and an onlooker noted the front left seat occupant wiping the inside of the windscreen. The helicopter took off from the playing field at 1219 hrs, and the pilot advised Exeter ATC that he would route via Sidmouth and then to Gloucester at an altitude of 900 ft amsl. At 1226 hrs, the pilot reported: "JUST COMING UP TO SIDMOUTH AND I'M GOING TO GO NORTH TOWARDS WELLINGTON AND TAUNTON." GPS data recovered from the wreckage showed that the helicopter approached within 1.5 nm of Sidmouth before turning north, following the valley of the River Otter toward the Blackdown Hills, on a line toward Taunton. The route took the aircraft 4 nm east of Dunkeswell.
At 1240 hrs, Exeter ATC's Approach Controller, who had been conducting a Surveillance Radar Approach for an inbound commercial aircraft, attempted to contact G-BXLI but received no reply. At 1245 hrs, the controller handed over duties, informing his colleague of the aircraft's routeing and a secondary radar contact seen near Taunton. The oncoming controller also tried to contact the helicopter without success. Exeter ATC then contacted Bristol ATC and Staverton ATC, but neither had heard from the pilot. No undue concern was raised initially, as there was no requirement for the pilot to contact ATC when flying outside controlled airspace. Staverton ATC was aware that the pilot had previously flown without contacting ATC. Exeter ATC asked Staverton to call when contact was established.
Witness Information
At about 1240 hrs, a witness standing in a field on the Blackdown Hills, approximately 600 m west of the B3170 road and 5 nm south of Taunton, heard a helicopter flying around for about four to five minutes. The helicopter sounded "fine," then a "bang" was heard. The witness telephoned the police at 1247:48 hrs, reporting that the helicopter had flown over the residential campsite where he was standing. No other public reports were received, and no further action was taken.
Another witness, standing in a farmyard 5 nm south of Taunton on the east side of a valley adjacent to the B3170, saw the tail of a helicopter approximately 200 m away, at a height of about 30 ft. The tail, whitish in colour, was seen to "whip round" in a clockwise direction. The aircraft appeared to hover for about a minute before flying south of the farm buildings and then heading west. Another witness inside the farmhouse heard an aircraft overhead that sounded like a Chinook helicopter. The noise "cut out and cut in again," then the aircraft returned over the house before moving away. This witness could not see the helicopter but estimated the noise lasted about two and a half to three minutes.
Search and Rescue
At 1435 hrs, Exeter ATC contacted the company at Staverton Airport where G-BXLI was normally accommodated. The company did not know the aircraft's whereabouts and called the mobile phones of the occupants; the phones rang but were not answered. At 1500 hrs, Staverton ATC made further enquiries and, having no contact, advised the London Area Control Centre (LACC) at Swanwick of the disappearance. No flight plan had been filed, so there was no requirement for overdue action by ATC. At 1610 hrs, the Distress and Diversion cell at London Air Traffic Control Centre (Military) was informed, and overdue action was initiated at 1645 hrs. A radar replay was obtained and forwarded to the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (ARCC) at RAF Kinloss at 1740 hrs. Search and rescue operations were launched at 1755 hrs, but the SAR helicopter was stood down at 1900 hrs due to unsuitable weather.
The police, contacted by Staverton ATC at 1554 hrs, initiated a search in the Blackdown Hills area where the earlier report of a helicopter and a bang had been received. The search continued through the night in poor weather, with rain turning to snow. The following morning at 0846 hrs, a member of the public reported finding the wreckage of a helicopter in a copse adjacent to the B3170, 5 nm south of Taunton. His dogs had alerted him. The wreckage was predominantly white, blending with snow, and was difficult to distinguish through trees and undergrowth. There was no fire. The aircraft was at an elevation of 980 ft amsl. All four occupants had received fatal injuries. Post mortem reports concluded they died as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident. Wreckage examination revealed no pre-accident defects.