Wreck hunt resumes

Press, 19 July 1983, Page 11

Wreck hunt resumes

NZPA London Salvage experts have resumed their search for the wreckage of the British Airways helicopter which crashed near the Isles of Stilly with the loss of 20 lives at the week-end.

The wreckage of the Sikorsky S6l is in 6 metres of water off the coast of St Mary’s. Sophisticated cameras and listening gear have been used in the search for the fuselage, but the hunt is being made more difficult because it is feared that the fuselage could have drifted in the water after crashing. Six people—the two pilots, two women, and two children—survived the crash and were picked up by the St Mary’s lifeboat. It is thought that the bodies of

the 20 who died, including the families of the two children, may still be in the fuselage.

The cause of the crash is still a mystery. Experts want to examine the aircraft to pinpoint the cause of the crash.

Crash investigators also want to know why the aircraft sank after hitting the water.

The Sikorsky is designed to stay afloat if forced to set down on water.

The managing director of British Airways Helicopters, Michael Ginn, said yesterday that no special checks; would be made on the remaining 20 S6ls in the fleet. Among the victims was one of Britain’s top orthopaedic surgeons, David Fuller, aged 42.