Daring Royal Navy airman lands on tiny survey vessel HMS Magpie in Solent 'rescue mission'

Observer Lieutenant Commander AJ Pearson, of 824 Naval Air Squadron, was carefully lowered onto the 58ft-long survey boat in an historic first.

Magpie’s quarterdeck is about the same size as the cockpit of a yacht, making it ideal for practising winching a casualty from a confined space.

Although the navy no longer maintains dedicated search and rescue squadrons – a service now provided by regionally the Coastguard in Hill Head – helicopter crews still need to be ready to respond to Mayday alerts from civilian vessels.

At the helm of Magpie was her skipper Lieutenant Commander Mark White, who deftly manoeuvred his nimble vessel in the face of a very powerful downblast from the rotors of the 14-tonne helicopter.

‘This was absolutely a Magpie first,’ he said. ‘It definitely gave us a salty wash down but we were able to hold course no problem despite the impressive downwash.’

After an extensive refit earlier this year in Cornwall, Devonport-based Magpie is conducting survey work in home waters.

Her size and the fact that she’s packed from bow to stern with leading-edge sonar and scanning equipment means she can survey inshore waters larger vessels in the Royal Navy’s hydrographic and survey flotilla cannot – and in unparalleled detail, providing the most accurate mapping of ports, harbours and shipping lanes in home waters.

She is currently operating in the Solent.

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