The head of a Norwegian union’s helicopter committee has branded the lifting of the Super Puma flight ban as “very disappointing” as no root cause of a fatal accident off Norway has been identified.
The aircraft were subject to a lengthy grounding following the crash off the island of Turoy last year which killed 13 people.
Norwegian investigators are still trying to identify the root cause of the accident.
European aviation watchdog EASA lifted flight restrictions in October but both the UK and Norway opted to keep the flight ban in place.
But in an unprecedented move the two countries’ Civil Aviation Authorities announced plans for lifting the restrictions on Friday night.
The sudden change of heart, which came just a week after they confirmed the grounding was still in place, angered workforce representatives.
Henrik Fjeldsbø, head of Industri Energi’s Helicopter Committee, added further fuel to the fire yesterday with a fresh condemnation.
He said: “”We are very disappointed that the Civil Aviation Authority now elects to lift the airbase for the Super Puma helicopters L2 and 225 when the root cause of the Turøy accident has not yet been found.
“We are very disappointed that aviation authorities decide to lift the flight ban when the root cause of the Turoy accident has not yet been found.
“As long as you do not know the underlying cause that one of the planetary gearboxes in the helicopter’s gearbox has been repaired, the helicopters should not be reused on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Fjeldsbø also questioned who will now take responsibility if another Super Puma accident occurs.
He said: “We can not afford to put these Super Puma helicopters back into operation until we are absolutely sure that there will be no similar accident again,
“This is obviously news that the Civil Aviation Authority wants to go by both people and media houses. It’s incredibly little trustworthy. And I’m very disappointed that we who represent passengers are not informed about the decision in advance.
Industry Energy heard about the decision through our extended network in the helicopter industry late Friday afternoon.
It has been claimed that the sudden announcement was due to fears over a leak to the public about the proposed lifting of flight restrictions.
Several big North Sea operators have come out and revealed their stance on using Super Pumas.
Read more here.
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