Offshore helicopter operators have been ordered to comply with a new airworthiness directive to ensure that life rafts do not fail to release in an emergency.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued the emergency directive for Airbus Helicopters EC225.
A previous directive was issued last year ordering repetitive inspections of the bellcrank of the inflation cylinder percussion system.
This followed an incident involving the jamming of the bellcrank, which could lead to failure of release of the life rafts.
Since then, a new occurrence of jamming was reported and the investigation results determined that it had been caused by corrosion in the bellcrank hole.
The new directive requires repetitive cleaning and lubrication of the affected bellcrank and pivot link.
The model, which has historically been known as the workhorse of the North Sea, have been grounded since April, after a crash in Norway killed 13 people including north-east dad Iain Stuart.
A video of the models being hauled out of Aberdeen on the back of lorries went viral. Read more here.
