Super Puma helicopters grounded after 14 rescued from North Sea

Bond Aviation Group is grounding its Super Puma helicopters until further notice after a pilot had to ditch one of the aircraft in the North Sea off Aberdeen.

All 14 passengers and crew on board were rescued safely from a life raft after the helicopter came down 25 miles off the coast of Aberdeen shortly after midday on Thursday.

Nine men were flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, one of whom was kept in for observation, while the other five were taken ashore by lifeboat.

Bond said it had made the decision to ground all flights involving EC225 Super Puma helicopters for "safety reasons". The helicopters are used to transport workers to offshore installations.

The crew broadcast an alert at around 12.30pm on Thursday saying they had been forced to ditch the aircraft into the sea about 25 miles east of Aberdeen.

Bond's director of commercial services Ashley Roy said the pilot made the emergency landing after an oil pressure warning light came on.

"It's a difficult procedure and the pilot and co-pilot should be commended for their skill in executing this procedure," Mr Roy said. "As a result of their skill, 12 passengers and the two crew themselves were unhurt and were able to return to their families today."

Emergency response

It is understood the aircraft had left Aberdeen and was on a journey to the Maersk Resilient platform, and then on to Ensco 102, for oil operator Britannia, an umbrella company for Chevron/ConocoPhillips.

Two civilian helicopters were first at the scene and were joined by RAF helicopters from Boulmer and Shetland and rescue crews from Aberdeen and Peterhead.

Speaking at 3pm, A&E consultant James Ferguson told reporters that the men had escaped the ditching without major injury. He said they were all "shaken up" when they arrived at hospital.

At a press conference in Aberdeen, Mr Roy acknowledged it was the third incident involving Bond helicopters in the last three years. "However, thousands of hours are flown offshore in helicopters every year," he said. "Bond itself conducts over 40,000 flying hours per annum."

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "This is a very concerning time for the friends and family of the fourteen people on board the helicopter which has ditched in the North Sea.

"Incidents such as these remain very rare but do serve as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those offshore workers who are required to use helicopters on a regular basis.

"Once all of those involved have been transferred ashore the priority will be for the appropriate authorities to investigate the causes of this accident and ensure the future safety of flying operations in the North Sea."

Previous incidents

In February 2009, 16 passengers and two crew survived when an EC225 helicopter ditched near a BP installation around 125 miles east of Aberdeen.

Six weeks later another Super Puma helicopter crashed into the North Sea, this time leading to the death of all 16 people on board.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the pilots failed to notice the helicopter was descending into the sea about 300m short of a BP oil and gas platform.

The model of Super Puma involved in this crash is different from that involved in the fatal incident.

Earlier this week Bond grounded its entire fleet of Eurocopter EC135 helicopters across the UK over safety concerns.

Among those affected were the Scottish Ambulance Service’s two air ambulance helicopters that respond to emergencies across the country.

A crack was discovered on the main rotor hub, prompting a safety warning by the European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa).

Union concerns

Unions expressed concern about the latest incident. A spokesman for Unite said: "We are concerned that there have been problems with helicopter engines recently that have not been reported to the Helicopter Steering Group.

"Obviously the reason for the ditching has to be investigated, but Unite is calling for an urgent meeting of the Helicopter Steering Group to be convened."

Referring to the most recent incident, Jake Molloy, regional organiser with the RMT union, said: "If helicopters are landing in the North Sea, obviously you have to be concerned about safety but at this stage we don't know enough about what caused it."

Looking back on the previous incidents, he said: "It's still at the forefront of everybody's minds, which is why we need to know sooner rather than later what has caused this particular incident to allay any fears that people may have."

Maureen Watt, Aberdeen South & North Kincardine MSP said: "I am extremely relieved that this incident has been resolved without any loss of life and I know that relief will be shared by everyone in the north-east.

"Our oil and gas industry places the safety of its workers before every other concern and I am glad that the safety procedures in place for this kind of incident were successful in averting the kind of tragedy we have unfortunately seen on some occasions in the past.

"With everyone now safe, I am sure the priority will switch to establishing what went wrong so that all possible lessons can be learnt to prevent future incidents and improve the safety of everyone working offshore."

IN DETAIL

Picture Gallery: Images showing the dramatic rescue of 14 people after helicopter ditched in North Sea

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