Airbus Helicopters has responded to claims that it was ruling out “any of the scenarios” put forward by the Air Investigation Branch Norway (AIBN) into the cause of a North Sea helicopter crash which killed 13 people in April.
It comes after the air safety body said there were three most likely causes for the crash which happened as a CHC-operated flight made its way from Statoil’s Gullfaks B platform to Flesland Airport.
In an updated preliminary report last month the AIBN said possible cause included issue with the strut that attach to the rotor head to the helicopter and two parts linked to the gearbox that drive the blades, the epicyclic module and the main gearbox housing.
In a statement, Airbus said it was “not ruling out any of the scenarios” described by the AIBN in the report.
A spokesman said: “Although significant progress has been made in analysing information regarding the suspension bar attachments, more work needs to be done on scenarios involving the epicyclic module and the MGB conical housing”.
He added that the company wanted to stress its “chief priority” was to further support the ongoing AIBN investigation and to identify the accident’s root cause.
An initial report in the weeks after the crash revealed the helicopter had fallen 2,000ft from the sky and would not have been survivable.
There were 11 passengers and two crew on the flight, including Aberdeenshire man Iain Stuart.
Earlier today, Airbus said it saw the company making more of a transition towards the military sector away from oil and gas as it sees a continued decline in that area of its business.
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