Accident Reports

On 8 June 2022, two wheelchair users lost their lives when a wheelyboat capsized on Roadford Lake, Devon, England. The wheelchair users were residents from a local care home who were participating in a day trip on the lake. When the wheelyboat capsized, the residents who were strapped into their wheelchairs were dragged to the bottom of the lake and drowned. The MAIB investigation found that the wheelyboat had not been correctly maintained, allowing water to leak into the boat and making it unstable, which led to its capsize. The bow ramp seals were not subjected to regular inspection before use and had degraded, compromising the watertight integrity of the wheelyboat. The activity centre had not fully identified the risks or understood the unique needs of operating the wheelyboat with wheelchair users. Continue reading “MAIB report: Two wheelchair users died after wheelyboat capsized”

On 12 July 2024, the crew of the potting vessel Kingfisher (DH110) were engaged in manually shooting a string of creels. A deckhand became entangled in a creel’s leg rope and was pulled overboard, where his personal flotation device (PFD) inflated on immersion. Using the hauling winch, Kingfisher’s crew retrieved the backrope and recovered the now submerged deckhand on board within seven minutes. Despite the efforts of the vessel’s crew, members of a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat, a paramedic from a His Majesty’s Coastguard rescue helicopter and crew members of an attending Continue reading “Safety warning issued following man overboard from potting vessel Kingfisher with loss of one life”

On 18 June 2021, the UK registered stern trawler Angelena capsized and sank about 8 nautical miles south-east of Exmouth while its fishing gear was being recovered by the lone skipper. The end of the net was full of sand, mud and fish and, once lifted clear of the water, the net swung to away from the vessel’s side and Angelena capsized. The skipper did not have time to raise the alarm before entering the water. The skipper was wearing a lifejacket fitted with a personal locator beacon and managed to swim to the vessel’s liferaft, which had floated free. The skipper activated the personal locator beacon once in the liferaft and was rescued unharmed by a nearby vessel. Continue reading “Capsize and sinking of fishing vessel Angelena: MAIB report”