There are a lot of angry and even scared people working offshore whose lives are being seriously disrupted by the fact that 19 EC225 Super Puma helicopters will remain parked, mostly at Dyce Airport, until Eurocopter finds out precisely why two members of the class suffered serious and, on the face of it, identical failures.
Lutz Bertling made it perfectly clear that the aircraft were staying put until credible solutions were found.
He had no choice. The gods forbid, but should a third EC225 ever suffer similar problems, Eurocopter’s damaged North Sea reputation will be wrecked.
Mr Bertling knows that the drive shaft cracking and gearbox warning light faults (they are not inter-related as it turns out) must be correctly diagnosed and the right fixes found and implemented — and as soon as possible.
The shaft fix could be a complex one involving partial re-design. There again, it could turn out to be remarkably simple, possibly as simple as modifications to the EC225’s engine management software to ensure that a cocktail of vibrations with the potential to damage the drive shaft can be avoided.
Mr Bertling apologised to those who had to endure forced landings and for the massive disruptions to North Sea commuting.
That, I suppose, is a good start in terms of the struggle to restore the company’s North Sea reputation and the confidence of the workforce in Pumas of any description.
I think he was sincere in what he said, even if his visit to Europe’s Energy Capital was later than it should have been.
While on the surface, Eurocopter management are indeed pushing the safety, reputation and confidence theme, and the North Sea industry’s helicopter safety steering group is working closely with the company in its quest for fixes, North Sea lawyers and their counterparts at Eurocopter will already be beavering away.
These EC225 failures could get very expensive indeed for the company.