A helicopter safety group will meet today to hear what operators of the latest Super Puma to ditch believe went wrong.
The CHC-operated EC225 made an emergency landing 14 miles from Fair Isle on Monday and all 19 on board were rescued.
Today senior staff from offshore helicopter operators, oil and gas firms and trade unions expect to be given a report on the incident by CHC.
Eurocopter bosses have admitted a gearbox warning prompted the crew to ditch. This is not the first incident to involve gearbox problems. In May, all 14 passengers and crew on a Bond-operated Super Puma were rescued after it ditched about 30 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.
Just last week accident investigators revealed the crew had been given a false alert over the failure of the main gearbox cooling and lubrication system.
And in April 2009, 16 people died when a Super Puma – also operated by Bond – plunged into the sea after its gearbox failed en route to Aberdeen. The disaster happened six weeks after another of the helicopters ditched with 18 men on board.
Jake Molloy, regional organiser for the RMT union’s offshore branch, said last night: “I’m assuming that CHC is preparing a brief for the helicopter steering group on the incident, but if it is indeed another gearbox issue then I’d suggest that Eurocopter has a problem and they need to address it. The various parties will all be sitting down together and we fully expect a comprehensive briefing by CHC.”
The Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) was created on behalf of the oil and gas industry after the 2009 disaster.
Mr Molloy added: “One gearbox malfunction leading to 16 deaths is one thing, but two subsequent ditches due to gearbox problems can only cause concern. One is bad enough, but three is totally unacceptable and something has got to be done. Eurocopter should be talking to its workforce about what it intends to do about these problems.”
Members of the Unite union also plan to highlight the “growing fear” among offshore workers over helicopter safety and rescue procedures at today’s meeting. John Taylor, industrial officer for the union, also plans to raise members’ concerns about the Dacon scoop – a giant net for retrieving casualties from the water when conditions are too extreme for a fast rescue craft.
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