What happened
While climbing to FL35 on a flight from Exeter to Guernsey, the crew noticed a faint smell of fumes within the cockpit. Shortly after passing the SKERRY waypoint, smoke became visible emerging from beneath the right-hand instrument panel. Although a passenger inspected the area and found no visible flames, the pilot notified Jersey control of the situation and decided to return to the nearest coastline at Start Point.
Upon transitioning to Exeter Radar, the pilot began a descent and prepared for a potential emergency landing. The passenger was instructed to don a life-jacket and move to the rear of the cabin near the door to facilitate the deployment of a life-raft. As the smoke and fumes intensified, the pilot determined that attempting to reach land was too risky due to the possibility of being incapacitated by the fumes. Consequently, the decision was made to perform a controlled ditching.
During the descent, the pilot opted not to open the cabin vents to avoid feeding a potential fire, and kept the master switch active to maintain radio communication. At an altitude of 200 feet, the pilot shut down both engines and feathered the propellers. The aircraft impacted the sea at approximately 70 knots into a wind of 20 knots, hitting a swell that caused a significant impact. The aircraft remained buoyant for roughly 90 seconds before sinking, allowing both occupants to exit through the rear door. Despite the loss of emergency signaling equipment during the impact, both the pilot and passenger were rescued by an RAF Chivenor helicopter approximately 45 minutes later. There were 0 fatalities and 2 uninjured occupants.
Findings
- The pilot chose to ditch the aircraft because the increasing density of smoke and fumes created an immediate risk of the crew being overcome before reaching the coast.