No criminal case on Super Puma tragedy

THE Crown Office yesterday announced there will be no prosecutions following a detailed investigation into the 2009 Super Puma disaster which claimed the lives of the two pilots and 14 oilmen on board.

Instead Crown Office authorities have ordered a fatal accident inquiry into the disaster which is to be held at Aberdeen Sheriff Court this October.

The Super Puma, operated by Bond Offshore Helicopters, plunged into the North Sea on its way back to Aberdeen from BP’s Miller oil platform on 1 April, 2009.

All 16 men on board died when it crashed 14 miles from the Buchan coast in what was the biggest loss of life in a helicopter accident in the North Sea for 20 years.

In November, 2011, a 209-page report into the disaster published by the government’s Air Accident Investigation Branch revealed a catalogue of confusion, mistakes and miscommunication led to plans to replace the helicopter’s faulty gearbox being scrapped – a week before the system suffered a catastrophic failure.

The Crown Office said: “Having carefully considered all the circumstances of this incident, Crown Counsel have decided there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution and as result no criminal proceedings are instructed.”