Shetland helicopter crash: Super Puma review call

THE British Airline Pilots’ Association today called for an industry- wide review of helicopter safety in the North Sea, following Friday’s fatal crash in which four oil workers lost their lives.
A Super Puma similar to the helicopter that crashed in the North Sea. Picture: GettyA Super Puma similar to the helicopter that crashed in the North Sea. Picture: Getty
A Super Puma similar to the helicopter that crashed in the North Sea. Picture: Getty

The union is demanding a review to discover why helicopter operations in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, which share the same geographic operational area, have a better safety record than helicopter flights in the UK Continental Shelf.

The union issued a statement today stating that the confidence of its members in the Super Puma range of helicopters remained unchanged.

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But a spokesman for the union also said there would be a need to “take a step back” and review all five helicopter accidents in the North Sea in the last five years to see what could be done in the future to improve aviation safety in the offshore industry.

A Super Puma similar to the helicopter that crashed in the North Sea. Picture: GettyA Super Puma similar to the helicopter that crashed in the North Sea. Picture: Getty
A Super Puma similar to the helicopter that crashed in the North Sea. Picture: Getty

A union spokesman said: “BALPA members wish to extend their deepest sympathies to the families of those who have lost their lives in the recent helicopter accident, as well as to the survivors who have undergone such a traumatic experience.

“BALPA members understand only too well the concerns of passengers about safety and wish to reassure them that pilots will not operate if the statutory authorities advise against or if individual crews believe, for whatever reason, it is unsafe so to do.”

The spokesman said it would be a mistake to speculate on the cause of the disaster. And he continued: “To be clear, the recent suspension of operations was not based on an AAIB recommendation or proven safety concerns but was an understandable response by the companies which charter the operations and if that approach continues then BALPA will support it.

“In the meantime BALPA wishes to confirm that the confidence of its members in the Super Puma family of aircraft remains unchanged. Indeed the aircraft continues to operate commercial air transport flights throughout the rest of the world, including the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.”

(Clockwise from top left) Sarah Darnley, George Allison, Gary McCrossan and Duncan Munro died in the ditching. Pictures: PA/ Police Scotland(Clockwise from top left) Sarah Darnley, George Allison, Gary McCrossan and Duncan Munro died in the ditching. Pictures: PA/ Police Scotland
(Clockwise from top left) Sarah Darnley, George Allison, Gary McCrossan and Duncan Munro died in the ditching. Pictures: PA/ Police Scotland

He continued: “We should not rush to judge an aircraft which has three very different variants and has successfully transported millions of passengers worldwide in safety over 30 years of operation. However once the recommendations of the AAIB accident report into last Friday’s accident have been published, BALPA believes there is a need to take a step back and, as well as reviewing each of the five individual accident investigations, to consider as a whole what can be done to improve the safety of both the offshore workforce (our passengers) and BALPA members who share the same risks, but on a daily basis. Such an investigation might usefully take a comparative view on the approaches of our Norwegian colleagues who do things in the same geographic operating area yet with an apparently better safety record.”

Protest

The leaders of two of Europe’s largest offshore unionswill tomorrow lead a protest outside the headquarters of CHC helicopters, the operators of the doomed Sipper Puma involved in last Friday’s fatal crash.They will be calling for immediate action to improve the safety of crew change flights - and the lifting of a ban on union access to offshore crews on North Sea installations.

The protest will be led by Bob Crow, the general secretary of the RMT union, and Leif Sanders, from the Norwegian offshore union IE .

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Mr Crow said today: “No one should underestimate the level of grief and anger felt amongst the offshore workforce in light ofFriday nights latest disaster. That anger can be seen across the social media sites. Twenty- five years after Piper Alpha the industry is today confronted by another series of basic demands and assurances on worker safety.

“The time has come for the offshore industry to start treating their workforce with respect and dignity and that means no more hollow words on safety and a lifting of the ban on union access to the workforce - a ban where the only objective is weakening collective strength including in the sphere of workplace safety. The ban on union access to the offshore workforce is an infringement of basic rights and makes a mockery of pledges on offshore worker safety.”

And he continued: “The entire Super Puma fleet must remain grounded until the causes of this latest event are established and dealt with thoroughly to the unions satisfaction and we will support any member who refuses to board any suspect aircraft type in light of this disaster.”

Lack of confidence

Meanwhile an oil and gas industry website revealed today that a

snapshot survey of over 1000 oilworkers, taken after Friday’s crash, showed that 89 per cent of those who responded believe that the Super Puma should be taken out of service, and other helicopters considered for flights , such as the Sikorsky S-92. The S-92 helicopter, already in use in the British sector, was introduced widely in Norway after oil unions put pressure on companies to improve helicopter safety.

The survey by Oilandgaspeople.com, the world’s largest oil and gas jobs board, also shows that a lack of confidence in the way the industry deals with helicopter safety issues is widespread.

A spokesman for the website company said: “Eighty per cent feel that companies are putting money before profits and safety is genuinely being compromised. Fifty six per cent feel that their opinion regarding helicopter safety matters isn’t taken seriously by their current employer, while 59 per cent feel that the offshore oil and gas industry doesn’t do enough to raise helicopter safety.”

He continued: “Since the crash, 53 per cent don’t feel safe flying offshore, with 33 per cent saying they will no longer travel on Super Pumas. Fifty seven per cent believe that other methods of crew transfer should be considered, including boats.”

Temporary arrangements

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Oil companies were today beginning the task of sharing helicopter resources, bringing in additional aircraft assets from overseas, and chartering vessels to take oilworkers to and from their platforms as the Super Puma crisis intensified.

There are mounting concerns that offshore production could eventually be affected by the grounding all the Super Pumas operating in the UK Continental Shelf.

A spokesman for oil giant BP said: “The suspension of all Super Puma flights will have a major impact on offshore activity. BP uses Sikorsky helicopters in the North Sea, as well as Super Pumas, and so will be looking to maximise their use and acquire more of these aircraft types to minimise the disruption.”

He added: “We are also actively managing demand by asking each facility to review activities that are not essential in the short term.”

A spokeswoman for Shell said: “We operate with Sikorsky S-92s so we are not directly impacted. But of course, with the pressure on the system, I suspect we are going to be helping other operators where we can.”

Body recovered

The body of the fourth oil worker, killed in last Friday’s Super Puma disaster, arrived in Aberdeen harbour this morning on board the NorthLink passenger ferry MV Hrossey.

The remains of the disaster victim were later driven in a private hearse, under police escort, from the harbour to the Aberdeen City Mortuary of Police Scotland. The body had been trapped in the main fuselage of the doomed aircraft and was only recovered on Sunday night from the wreckage of the Super Puma AS332 L2 after it was raised onto the deck of the salvage vessel Bibby Polaris.

The bodies of the three other victims of the Sumburgh Head tragedy had arrived in Aberdeen yesterday on board another NorthLink ferry, the MV Hjaltland

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Meanwhile specialist sonar equipment has been deployed in the seas off the southern tip of the Shetland mainland in the search for the vital “black box” flight data recorder.

The cockpit voice and flight data recorder is housed in the tail section of the aircraft which is believed to have sheared off from the main fuselage after the impact

David Learmount: Grounding Super Puma is sensible – but it will fly again

There are more than 800 Super Pumas in service across the world. The RAF had them in service in the early 1970s, and since then the Super Puma has seen some pretty good and varied service across the world, and it has been a pretty good workhorse for the oil and gas industry.

Over its lifetime, and generally speaking, its safety record has been excellent.

If you were to look at the Super Puma over its lifetime of service, it has as good a safety record as any other helicopter carrying out the same sort of task.

But, if you were to look at the past four years, that would not be true. And we have to ask questions about why these incidents did not happen before and are happening now.

However, you cannot get a helicopter which is as safe as an airliner – besides which, they are operating in such an unfriendly environment in the North Sea.

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Helicopters are phenomenally – I cannot overemphasise this – much more mechanically complex than fixed wing aircraft. And the more bits you have doing mechanical jobs in a device, the more you are going to get mechanical problems happening from time to time.

However, I do not think this latest accident had the same cause as the crash in April 2009, in which 16 people died.

If the cause had been the same – catastrophic gearbox failure – nobody would have survived this incident either.

The helicopter in Friday’s incident would have been flying at about 1,000 feet. Yet most of those on board survived, and some did not even need to be taken to hospital for treatment. Those who died, I suspect, did not die from the impact.

The cause was something different. It might be gearbox-related but it was not catastrophic.

Would I fly on a Super Puma right now? The answer is no, and I am not a nervous flier.

But, as soon as I find out what caused this latest accident, then I will fly in one of them again.

The point is that the Super Pumas have not been grounded because they are the absolute pariahs of aviation and will never fly again. They have been grounded because they don’t know what caused this incident and they are not going to fly again until they know what did cause this accident. And that is only sensible.

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• David Learmount is operations and safety editor at Flightglobal magazine.

First Minister’s tribute

Speaking after he signed the book of condolence at the Kirk of St Nicholas, First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Today, the thoughts and prayers of everyone in Scotland will be with the families and loved ones of George Allison, Sarah Darnley, Duncan Munro and Gary McCrossan, who lost their lives in the tragic offshore helicopter incident on Friday.”

He continued: “Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our emergency services, all of the bodies have now been recovered and three are already back in Aberdeen. With the fourth expected to be brought back to the mainland tomorrow, I hope it is some comfort to the families of the deceased that they will now be able to begin the process of grieving their terrible loss.2

Mr Salmond continued: “I know that the entire community will pull together to support those families, and the book of condolence that is now opened by the Oil and Gas Chaplaincy will provide an opportunity for people to pay their respects to those who have died.

“The safety of our offshore workers is of paramount importance, and it is therefore entirely appropriate that, on recommendations of the Helicopter Safety Steering Group, Super Puma flights are suspended while the Air Accidents Investigation Branch takes forward its inquiry into this tragedy.

“Understandably, with an incident of this magnitude there is a great deal of speculation as to the cause. This is understandable but not always helpful and it’s better that the AAIB are given the time and space to pursue their enquiry. With the wreckage to be brought to the mainland, and both pilots amongst the survivors there is every reason to believe that the AAIB will be able to reach a determination and the industry can learn the lessons of this tragic accident and improve the safety of those brave men and women who work offshore.”