A helicopter that has rescued many casualties from the Scottish hills and mountains had to be rescued itself today after suffering a mechanical fault during a search on Ben Nevis.
The Royal Navy aircraft, a Sea King MK, call sign Rescue 177 based at HMS Gannet at Prestwick Airport, had to be dismantled and placed on the back of two lorries to be transported back to base for repairs.
The aircraft developed a fault while on a mission to airlift members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team up to the CIC Hut on Ben Nevis to search for two climbers reported missing when they failed to return from a day out on the 4,409ft peak.
Another Royal Navy helicopter, Rescue 178, was brought in to complete the operation on Sunday.
The two climbers were found safe and well walking out of Observatory Gully, totally unaware that they had been reported missing.
Mountain rescue team leader John Stevenson said: “The demanding conditions when dropping off team members at the CIC Hut unfortunately caused a technical failure to Rescue 177.
“Thanks to some great airmanship, they were able to land at the team base in Glen Nevis safely.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The helicopter was grounded due to a mechanical fault that occurred during the rescue on Sunday.
“It is being transported by road to Prestwick, where it will be serviced and returned to service as soon as possible.”
He added that HMS Gannet was able to continue to provide search and rescue cover while Rescue 177 was out of action using a back-up helicopter.
It is understood that the rotor blades dipped sharply while the helicopter was landing in poor weather conditions, causing the outside of the blades to strike an air intake.
The MoD spokesman added: “It is a rare occurrence. It is not unusual for them to have faults – all mechanical engines can develop faults – but we can normally get a road crew to repair the helicopter where it is.
“On this occasion, they were unable to do this.
“The only other time this has happened was in October 2013 when a helicopter developed a fault in Glencoe.”