The publisher of an international helicopter magazine has defended the Super Puma, which was involved in the Shetland tragedy.
Ned Dawson said, having travelled in different Puma helicopters over the years, he would have no hesitation in flying in the aircraft again.
And he said it was wrong to blame the operators or maintenance engineers who have an interest in ensuring the highest standards are maintained.
Mr Dawson said, rather than setting out to destroy the Super Puma family with blanket statements, it was best to wait until the exact cause of the accident was known.
As the owner and publisher of two helicopter magazines, one of which, HeliOps, covers the global civil aviation industry including offshore oil and gas operations, he said he wanted to correct any misconceptions.
The chief executive of Kia Kaha Media – in Auckland, New Zealand – and aviation photographer made his comments in response to the Destroy The Pumas campaign set up to oppose the re-introduction of the helicopter on offshore flights.
On the campaign page, Mr Dawson said he spent 10 months a year flying in helicopters all over the world, including on the Super Puma AS332L1/L2 and EC225s.
The Super Puma has been flying for decades “and will continue to do so”, he said, carrying hundreds of thousands of people to and from work and clocking up “hundreds of thousands of trouble-free flying hours with no incidents”.
And the men and women flying them were just like every other oil worker, in that they wanted to return home to their families every night.
Mr Dawson said it was incorrect to say the operators were only in it for the money.
Mr Dawson said: “I feel gutted for the friends and families of those lost on any accident but to call for the banning of that helo type because of the accident I think is unwarranted.”
He said is unfair to compare the Shetland accident with those involving EC225s, as they were two different models of the Puma family
“It would be best to wait until the actual cause of this latest accident is known before making blanket statements to destroy what is a great helicopter,” he added.
“I personally have done many flights and shoots on the L1/L2 and also EC225 and would get on one again tomorrow.”
He suggested the “collective might” of the Destroy The Puma campaign could be used to push for bigger escape windows and better training.
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