Island Express :

Hover grounded after ‘huge grinding noise’ from engine while at sea

One of HoverTravel’s hovercraft experienced an engine failure this morning.

Passengers on the 08:00 service from Ryde to Southsea reported a “huge grinding noise“.

Regular Hovertravel commuter Adam Manning was also on board when the engine failed.

Left engine failure
Adam told OnTheWight that it was the left engine that failed. When asked how far out was it and how did it made it back to Ryde, he replied, “It went about the same distance out as the end of the pier, so it wasn’t too far back! Just a bit slower and a bit wonky!

No updates from Hovertravel
OnTheWight has been in touch with Hovertravel and is waiting to hear back with more information.

Their Service Status information hasn’t been updated since 6:10am and is still reporting a normal service.

Image: Access Denied under CC BY 2.0