16 killed in worst of Super Puma’s North Sea incidents

THE Super Puma has been involved in a number of incidents during the past two decades, including a tragedy that resulted in 16 people losing their lives.

In February 2009, the same model as that involved in yesterday’s incident, an EC 225, ditched in the North Sea while carrying 15 oilmen and two pilots, 500 metres short of BP’s ETAP platform, 125 miles east of Aberdeen. Fortunately, all survived.

It resulted in Bond’s entire fleet being grounded while experts investigated the cause.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report later said the immediate cause had been a “catastrophic failure of the main rotor gearbox” and the consequent detachment of the main rotor.

Barely two months later, in April 2009, disaster struck a different model of the aircraft, an older AS332L2, while it was returning from BP’s Miller oil platform.

It also suffered a catastrophic gearbox failure and crashed off Peterhead, this time killing all 16 people on board – two pilots and 14 oil workers.

Other, earlier models of the Super Puma have also been involved in incidents. In April 1998, the Department of Transport ordered a safety review after a fault that could have caused a Super Puma to crash with 17 people on board went undetected for 50 flying hours.

In February 2000, a helicopter with 14 passengers and two crew on board was forced to make an emergency landing at Aberdeen airport after developing engine problems shortly after take-off.