The boss of a North Sea helicopter operator has vowed its Super Pumas will be back in the air within months.
Dozens of Eurocopter EC225s have been grounded following two incidents in the North Sea last year, but the chief executive of Bristow Group has backed the manufacturer to fix the gearbox problem believed to be responsible for both.
Bill Chiles said he expected Bristow’s 16 grounded Super Pumas, including 11 in the UK, to be back in the air by “spring or early summer”.
French firm Eurocopter has been carrying out tests on the gearboxes used in EC225s since the latest incident in October, but Mr Chiles said he was confident a temporary solution could be found while the helicopter builder works to fix the problem for good.
Eurocopter said last month it had identified a “most probable root cause” for cracks found on the gearboxes of the helicopters which ditched in October and May, but that further tests were required to confirm its theory.
Mr Chiles predicted a permanent fix would take up to a year-and-a-half to implement, but said Bristow “will find a way to safely fly these helicopters” with more frequent inspections and closer monitoring of the EC225’s vibration detection system.
Last month, the operator said it was still assessing the financial impact of the EC225 grounding and was looking for additional aircraft to support its North Sea clients.
It is understood Bristow has brought several older aircraft out of retirement, while from the middle of this year it will start introducing new helicopters it bought from Eurocopter rival Sikorsky in November.
The firm will take delivery of 10 S92s after signing a deal with Sikorsky believed to be worth £173million.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Eurocopter said: “We do not want to comment on Bristow’s position, except to say that we share Mr Chiles’ confidence regarding an interim solution which we are working on. As the tests are ongoing it is too early to provide a fixed timeline on confirming the root cause of the incidents.”