Porthcawl: Fault saw fumes fill Coastguard helicopter cockpit

A coastguard helicopter pilot made an emergency landing after the cockpit filled with smoke and debris, according to an official report.

It touched down in a field near Porthcawl, Bridgend county, after there was a heating system fault.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) launched an inquiry to find what went wrong during the training flight.

Work is continuing to find a fix for the Leonardo AW189 helicopters after further heating duct failures occurred.

These were on identical coastguard helicopters elsewhere in the UK.

The helicopter based at St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, was part of a fleet operated by the Bristow Group providing a 24/7 search and rescue response on contract to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

A safety bulletin issued by the aircraft manufacturer Leonardo in July last year required inspections and interim modifications of the heating ducts.

A fault was identified with joints between flexible and rigid sections caused by bubbles in the glue.

During the 4 March 2021 incident the aircraft was practicing winching near Porthcawl.

As it was returning to base the crew turned on the heating and opened the vents.

Two minutes later fragments of green foam debris were blown into the cockpit.

The heating was quickly switched off but a smell of fumes continued, followed by grey smoke coming out of the vents.

A mayday call was made to Cardiff Airport and the helicopter landed safely in a field, though the crew suffered respiratory irritation.

There were no signs of a fire and after engineers isolated the heating system, the aircraft was flown back to St Athan.

An inspection found the heating duct had collapsed and a large section of insulation was missing.

Five weeks later, a duct failed on another Bristow-operated coastguard AW189. Again, the rescue crew were affected by fumes.

The AAIB said since then there had been duct failures on other helicopters in the Bristow fleet in October 2021 and January 2022.

In conclusion, the AAIB said Leonardo was working with the duct suppliers to find a permanent solution to the problem.

The helicopters are continuing in normal service.

The Bristow group also operates the larger Sikorsky S-92 helicopters from its other Welsh search and rescue base in Caernarfon.

In total, the company operates a fleet of AW189 and S-92 helicopters from ten search and rescues sites around the UK.

An MCA spokeswoman said: "Her Majesty's Coastguard continues to respond to all search and rescue incidents calling on its helicopter fleet as and when required."

Bristow and Leonardo have been approached for comment.