No fatalities

Irish Sea Ditching After Simultaneous Engine Failure (XR444)

Irish Sea, WorldFlight

On June 26, 1972, a De Havilland DH.114 Heron (registration XR444) operated by Royal Navy was involved in an aviation accident near Irish Sea, World in flight. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The wing fuel tanks had not been selected, starving the engines of fuel. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 2026-06-12Data APIEditorial standards

An aircraft ditched in the Irish Sea after all four engines stopped during a liaison flight. All 11 occupants were rescued, and the aircraft was recovered and written off due to unselected wing fuel tanks.

Incident Overview and Immediate Response During a liaison flight over the Irish Sea, an aircraft experienced a simultaneous stoppage of all four engines. The flight crew reduced the aircraft's altitude and executed a ditching in the sea. All 11 occupants on board were quickly rescued. The aircraft was subsequently recovered from the water and assessed as a total loss, resulting in it being written off. ## Official Findings The official investigation reported that the incident occurred because the wing fuel tanks had not been selected. This configuration error caused the engines to be starved of fuel, leading to the simultaneous engine failure that forced the crew to ditch the aircraft.

Probable cause

The wing fuel tanks had not been selected, starving the engines of fuel.