Super Puma helicopter ditching in North Sea was ‘textbook’, says survivor

ONE of the men onboard a helicopter that ditched in the North Sea has told of his “textbook” rescue.

• Ditching manouevre was “textbook”, according to man who survived ordeal

• Survivor adds that pilots ‘aren’t getting enough credit’

• Super Puma helicopter is expected to have inspection conducted on it today

• Operator will suspend all flights of EC225 until its own investigation is concluded

The Super Puma was carrying 12 passengers and two crew members when it came down 25 miles off the coast of Aberdeen on Thursday.

All arrived safely back on land after air and sea rescues.

Offshore worker James Foreman said they survived because of the skill of the pilots.

The 46 year-old barge engineer told the Press and Journal newspaper the controlled ditching was “straight out of the training manual”.

He said: “Twelve guys walked off the helicopter alive and that’s what counts, everybody involved did their jobs.

“It was textbook. I don’t want to say too much about what happened, but from what I have seen on the news, the pilots that carried out the ditching aren’t getting enough credit.”

The helicopter was last night handed to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and they are expected to begin their inspection of the craft today.

Bond Aviation Group, which operated the helicopter, said it would continue its suspension of all EC225 helicopter flights while it investigates what happened.

They said the investigation will focus on the oil pressure warning light that instigated the water landing.

A major rescue operation was launched after the alarm was raised, with Coastguard and RAF helicopters called to the scene along with two lifeboats.

The 12 passengers and two crew members were recovered from the sea and put into life rafts.

Nine men were flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while the remaining five were taken to Aberdeen by lifeboat.

One man was kept at the hospital for observation.

Mr Foreman said: “My pulse was a bit high and I didn’t sleep very well. You never expect it to be your one to ditch, but you do what you are trained for”.

The helicopter had been on its way from Aberdeen to the Maersk Resilient rig and the Ensco 102 rig.

The ditching was the latest in a series of incidents involving helicopters in the North Sea.

Sixteen people died when a Super Puma plunged into the sea when its gearbox failed while carrying the men to Aberdeen on April 1 2009.

The 14 passengers and two crew were returning from BP’s Miller platform when it went down 11 miles north-east of Peterhead.

In February 2009, 18 people survived after a helicopter ditched in the North Sea.

The Bond Offshore Super Puma helicopter went down 125 miles east of Aberdeen at around 6.40pm on February 18.

Eighteen people were rescued with only minor injuries.