Pilot ditched Super Puma helicopter in North Sea due to faulty warning light

By FRANK URQUHART
Published on 17/10/2012 17:24

THE pilot of a North Sea helicopter was forced to ditch his Super Puma in the sea because of a faulty oil warning light in his cockpit, a report by the government’s Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has revealed.

• Initial warnings showed low pressure in the main and standby lubrication systems

• Faulty warning light suggested that the emergency gearbox lubrication system, which was being used for the first time, had failed

• AAIB report confirms that evidence indicated the emergency system had activated and remained working for the rest of the flight

• Recommendations made that Super Puma manufacturer Eurocopter reviews the design of its main lubrication system

The Bond-operated aircraft, with two crew and 12 passengers, ditched 25 miles east of

Aberdeen on 10 May after the crew noticed a low oil pressure warning. Two oilworkers suffered minor injuries.

An initial bulletin by the AAIB has revealed that the gearbox shaft of the Super Puma EC225 was cracked. The latest bulletin, issued by air accident investigators, has revealed that the oil pressure warning was false.

The report states: “The system had given the crew a false warning of system failure. This warning resulted in the crew ditching the helicopter in the sea”.

The pilot was forced to ditch his aircraft when the crew were presented with indications of low pressure in the main gearbox (MGB) and the stand-by oil lubrication systems.

The report states: “The crew activated the MGB emergency lubrication system and, following a subsequent warning indicating failure of that system, carried out a controlled ditching.”

But there was no evidence of lubrication leaks.

Related Articles

• Litany of mistakes led to 16 helicopter deaths

  A CATALOGUE of confusion, mistakes and miscommunication led to plans to replace a helicopter’s faulty gearbox being scrapped – a week before the system suffered a catastrophic failure, claiming the lives of 16 men, a report reveals today.

  3 Comments

• Report on North Sea Super Puma tragedy reveals 'catastrophic failure' of helicopter's main rotor

  THE disaster in which a Super Puma helicopter plummeted from the sky, killing all 16 people on board, was caused by a "catastrophic failure" which resulted in the loss of the aircraft's main rotor blades, it was revealed last night.

• Helicopter firm's flights cut from 75 to two

  THE number of flights run by the helicopter operator involved in the Super Puma crash has plummeted from 75 to two a week, after more North Sea firms suspended trips, The Scotsman has learned.

• Safety fears ground Super Puma fleets

  VITAL helicopter operations for Britain's oil and gas industry will be grounded this weekend after urgent safety checks were ordered on hundreds of Super Pumas across Europe, following the 1 April disaster in the North Sea in which 16 men died.