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Navy Helicopter Crash Kills Three
3 Jun
Summary
- Three Royal Navy crewmembers died in a helicopter crash.
- The incident occurred during an early morning training exercise.
- The crash happened near Sourton Down in Devon, England.
A Royal Navy Merlin Mk4 helicopter crashed in a field near Sourton Down, Devon, resulting in the deaths of three crewmembers. The incident occurred just before 4:00 AM on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Emergency services were alerted around 3:45 AM. The head of the Navy expressed deep sadness and offered condolences to the families.
Defence Secretary John Healey conveyed devastation at the loss of the personnel. The Princess of Wales, Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, shared her sorrow and extended thoughts to the families. Merlin helicopters typically have a crew of four. A witness reported hearing the engines cut out before seeing a large flash of red light and hearing an explosion.
This incident echoes a previous tragedy in 2024 when a Merlin Mk4 ditched in the Channel during a training exercise, leading to a fatality. The crash site is situated between the Royal Navy's air bases in Somerset and Cornwall, near a military training facility known for training Merlin helicopter crews.
