Norwegian energy worker’s union Safe has called for the country’s Super Puma helicopter fleet to be grounded until the cause of the fatal Shetland crash is established.
The country’s Helicopter Cooperation Forum held an emergency meeting today, with representatives of the country’s aviation authority, petroleum authority, unions and oil firm discussing the fleet’s immediate future.
The meeting, coming the same day their UK equivalents will discuss the future of the grounded Super Puma fleet, will consider whether to ground the aircraft in the wake of the latest accident, which saw four people die when their CHC-operated L2 crashed into the sea.
One union is already calling for Norway’s fleet of Super Puma helicopters to be grounded in response to the suspension of flights in the UK.
Energy industry union Safe said, despite Norway’s track record of helicopter safety, it wanted the fleet grounded until the cause of the Shetland crash had been established.
“SAFE notes that statistics on accidents and incidents are very different between the Norwegian and British sectors,” the union said.
“There are far fewer incidents in Norwegian operated helicopter traffic. We attribute that to a well developed three-party cooperation has resulted in increased safety focus of activities on the Norwegian continental shelf.
“The statistics are a clear testimony that a well-developed HSE is profitable – in every sense of the word.
“SAFE now requires that the Norwegian authorities, as a precautionary measure, putting all kinds of Super Puma helicopters on the ground until it is determined what caused the accident at Shetland.”
Earlier the union’s deputy leader Roy Erling Fury had told Aftenbladet grounding the fleet would the right response after Friday’s tragedy.
“We think it’s weird to distinguish between Norway and the UK,” said Roy Erling Fury, deputy leader of the Norwegian energy workers union.
“It should be natural with a common reaction. The reason may be that it is related more feeling to the accident in the UK. However, we believe that the basis of a precautionary principle should also put all Super Puma on the ground in Norway,” he told Aftenbladet.
The meeting comes as members of the Helicopter Safety Steering Group meet in Aberdeen to discuss what happens next to the UK fleet.
The Super Puma EC225 and L2 craft were grounded after Friday’s accident by operators while investigations are carried out into the accident.
Salvage experts are still hunting the black box flight recorder, which will hold key evidence in establishing what caused the helicopter to lose power.
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