Helicopters grounded after crash

The wreckage of the Merlin was recovered last Friday

The Royal Navy has grounded all of its Merlin helicopters while it investigates why one crashed into the sea last month with a suspected engine fire.

Five crew members were rescued after the helicopter ditched off Skye in Scotland.

The wreckage was recovered from the sea last Friday at the second attempt.

It is understood that a board of inquiry will hear claims that at least one engine was trailing flames before the helicopter ditched in the Inner Sound between Applecross in Wester Ross and the island of Raasay.

More aircraft ordered

The state-of-the-art British-made Merlin is a replacement for the Sea King helicopter.

There are 12 currently in service, and another 31 have been ordered. Each aircraft costs £57m.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We have no reason to believe there is a general fault, but as a sensible precaution the Royal Navy has stopped flying the Merlin while the accident is investigated."

He said it was not known how long the planes would be stopped from flying but added it was expected to be "several weeks".

The Merlin's main roles are anti-surface ship and submarine warfare, tracking and surveillance, amphibious operations and search and rescue missions.

The first Merlin, designated HM Mk 1, entered service with the UK Royal Navy in December 1998, at Culdrose.

There have been three crashes of pre-production Merlin prototypes in recent years - one at Yeovil, and two in Italy.

The Merlin is the latest piece of defence equipment to be withdrawn from service in recent months.

Lynx helicopters have also been grounded because of safety problems and the entire nuclear safety fleet was recalled to port amid a safety scare last month.

Five subs were subsequently given a clean bill of health, leaving seven still out of action.