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Aquila - BA 379


Aquila - BA 379



    Martin Johns
    Aug 31 2009 09:01 AM
    It's the ill fated Aquila - BA 379 Dave, that recently capsized off the West coast of Scotland with the tragic loss of three of her crew  O0
    Thanks for that m8
    has there been a report yet about the cause etc.:)?:)?
    At the 'Consultation Stage' according to the MAIB web site  @ http://www.maib.gov....estigations.cfm

    There was a thread running in the Forum on this accident, check out http://www.trawlerpi...pic,1756.0.html

    Regards

    Steve E.
    This from the Times & Star @ http://www.timesands...errerPath=news/

    Quote

    Aquila tragedy Maryport family in search of answers

    Last updated at 07:08, Friday, 05 February 2010

    THE family of one of the Maryport fishermen who died in July say they will not be able to come to terms with the tragedy until they know exactly what happened.

    Peter Hilton was one of three who died when the scallop dredger Aquila capsized off Ardnamurchan Point on the west coast of Scotland.

    Mr Hilton left behind his partner Paulene Lightfoot, daughter Emma, and sons Peter and Shaun.

    Inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) visited the family at their Moorside Drive home on Tuesday to update them on the progress of the investigation but many of their questions remain unanswered, making it difficult for them to come to terms with the tragedy.

    Emma said: “You can’t start to get over it until everything is finished. We need the full picture before we can move on and everything is on hold until we know exactly what happened.

    “People think you should be over it but it’s not over. It’s still going on for us.”

    Paulene, 48, said: “We are just sitting here waiting for information. It’s scandalous.”

    The Lightfoots want to know why no lifeboat or helicopter was able to reach the men, when the inquest will be held and whether Mr Hilton was hurt during the incident, preventing him from swimming.

    Paulene added that she felt she had not been given as much information as partners of the other fishermen because she was not married to Mr Hilton.

    Emma said: “It shouldn’t be like that because they were together for a long time and have three children together.”

    The family were told more details about what is thought to have happened, including how far away coastguards were and what is believed to have caused the tragedy.

    Roger Carlisle, principal inspector of marine accidents, instructed them not to talk about the preliminary findings until the official results are announced in the next six to eight weeks.

    Paulene said: “They came to tell us their side of the story before we were told all sorts of stuff that wasn’t true but we were told it was confidential because the full results haven’t been released yet.”

    The inquest will probably be in March and everything will be finished by April.

    The family were also anxious to scotch false rumours that they have received a large pay out from insurers.

    They said they thought the MAIB had also visited the families of the other two men who died, skipper Tony Hayton and Martin Sanderson, and survivor Timmy Rowley.

    A memorial to honour the fishermen was discussed by Maryport Town Council last year.Paulene Lightfoot said she would like to see a plaque outside the Maryport & Solway Fishing Cooperative rather than outside Christ Church, known locally as the fishermen’s church.She said: “That way the other fishermen can see it when they come into the harbour.”A spontaneous collection was started immediately after the tragedy but the Lightfoot family said they had no idea where it was, who was in charge of it or how much money had been raised.Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance funded the recovery of the Aquila, while the MAIB is responsible for the investigation.

    First published at 19:24, Thursday, 04 February 2010
    Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk