1986 British International Helicopters Chinook crash 1986 British International Helicopters Chinook crash On 6 November 1986, a Boeing 234LR Chinook helicopter returning workers from the Brent oilfield crashed on approach to land at Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands. At from the runway the helicopter had a catastrophic forward transmission failure which de-synchronised the tandem rotors, causing the blades to collide. The helicopter crashed into the sea and sank. 43 passengers and two crew members were killed in the crash; one passenger and one crew member survived with wounds. The helicopter was normally based at Aberdeen Airport but had been based at Sumburgh Airport since 3
Boeing Chinook (UK variants) those used by the British armed forces, were grounded due to cracking discovered in the landing gear of a British helicopter during routine inspection. In May 2000, several Chinook helicopters airlifted British and European Union citizens out of Freetown in Sierra Leone in an evacuation due to regional instability. In September 2000 Chinooks were being used to evacuate casualties from fighting in Freetown to RFA "Sir Percivale", a support ship docked there. In July 2006, 3 Chinook helicopters of No. 27 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to evacuate British citizens from Lebanon; the squadron also flew the EU