A helicopter crash survivor said he relived how it felt to “fall from the sky” when he heard 13 people had been killed in an accident offshore Norway.
The incident last month happened as a CHC-operated flight was making its return from Statoil’s Gullfaks B platform to Flesland Airport.
There were 11 passengers – including Aberdeenshire man Iain Stuart- and two crew on board.
Survivor Martin Tosh was onboard the fatal 2013 Super Puma crash. Four of his colleagues were killed when the AS332 L2 – operated on behalf of offshore giant Total – plunged into the North Sea about two miles west of Sumburgh Airport.
He said when he heard about the most recent crash it “took the spring” out of his step as he watched events unfold.
Tosh said: “The first thing that came back to me was falling from the sky and fighting for my life. I know how they would have felt when they knew the chopper was going down.
“I think there are still quite a few changes that need to be made in helicopter safety.
“I just wonder if anything has been learned from all the mistakes made. It feels like there are still as many accidents happening despite all the investigations to look and see how to make
things better.”
An initial preliminary report launched earlier this month found the rotor blade had detached from the helicopter.
It was also found the cause of the crash was most likely to have been caused by a technical issue rather than “human error”.
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