Papa Stour 's most recent 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 . It 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 .