Sumburgh Airport
Another shipwreck occurred on 9 December 1977 when the Aberdeen trawler "Elinor Viking" A278, skipper Alec Flett, foundered on the Ve Skerries. The Aith Lifeboat came to the scene but was unable to get near enough to rescue the crew because of the sea conditions. At the request of Alec Webster, Coastguard Station Officer, Lerwick, a volunteer crew in a British Airways Sikorsky S61N helicopter from Sumburgh Airport was scrambled. They managed to winch all the boat's crew to safety within hours of the grounding, despite the storm force winds. The helicopter crew later received a number of awards for bravery. There was no loss of life, but this incident prompted the building of a lighthouse on the skerries in 1979, and may also have been the example required for the formation of the present Search and Rescue helicopter unit, based at Sumburgh Airport.