Engine fault named as factor in Royal Navy helicopter crash that killed pilot
A Royal Navy inquiry has found an engine fault contributed to a September 2024 helicopter crash off the Dorset coast that killed pilot Lt Rhodri Leyshon, after the crew mistakenly believed two other engines had failed.
A service inquiry has concluded that a helicopter engine fault was one of the factors behind the death of a Royal Navy serviceman during a night-flying training exercise in September 2024.
On 4 September 2024, a Merlin Mk4 helicopter based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset was carrying three crew members during night-flying exercises. At around 20:50 GMT, the aircraft ditched — a deliberate emergency landing on water — approximately 25 nautical miles south of Lyme Regis, Dorset.
The inquiry found that the right-hand seat pilot, Lt Rhodri Leyshon, was seriously injured in the impact and was unable to escape the aircraft as it entered the water.
What went wrong
According to the inquiry report, the crash was triggered when a diaphragm inside one of the helicopter's engines split, allowing fuel to flow directly into the engine. This caused the engine to run at a much faster speed than normal.
The crew erroneously concluded that the aircraft's number one and three engines had failed and manually switched them off. This left only the malfunctioning engine running, which then reached its overspeed trip threshold and also shut down. With power lost from all three engines, the aircraft descended into the sea.
