This week Energy Voice is remembering Chinook, the life-changing events of that day and how it forever changed the course of offshore safety.
Speaking to one of the survivors, and those who dealt with the immediate aftermath of the accident, we take a look at how Chinook impacted on families, workers and the North Sea oil and gas industry.
There were 47 men travelling home from the Brent field in the North Sea when it plunged into water not far from Shetland.
Of those on board, only two would survive the incident, including a pilot and one of the oil workers.
The men were said to have been rescued “by chance” after a member of the coastguard team on a flight nearby spotted oil slick.
A search was undertaken by boats, helicopters and a Nimrod reconnaissance as they looked for survivors and began to recover bodies.
At the time, experts said the accident probably happened very suddenly because there was no distress signal and wreckage was found over a very small area.