Mother’s heartbreak over helicopter crash mistakes

THE mother of the youngest victim to die in a helicopter crash yesterday said her son would be alive today if a faulty gearbox had been properly dealt with.

Relatives of the 16 men who perished on board Flight 85N in a North Sea crash in April 2009 learned this week how their loved ones spent their final moments, with the publishing of a final air accident inquiry.

An Air Accident Investigation Branch report on Wednesday ruled that a crack in the Super Puma helicopter’s gearbox had led to its “catastrophic” failure.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Verona Szegedi, the mother of James Costello, 24, yesterday said: “I most definitely feel that my son, James Costello, would still be with me had the initial intention of Bond’s to replace the main rotor gear gone ahead.”

Ms Szegedi, of Aberdeen, said she was still waiting for James, who was a planner for PSN (Production Services Network), to “come home”.

Related topics: