Statoil’s permanent ban of Super Puma helicopters has come as a blow to Airbus which said it “regrets” the move.
Guillaume Faury, chief executive of Airbus Helicopters, has said the firm had been working with authorities and investigators in Norway to bring back the helicopters which were banned in the wake of a fatal crash.
Statoil has ruled out use of Airbus’ Super Puma helicopters “ever again” even if they are eventually given the go-ahead by Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority.
A spokesman for the Norwegian oil giant, Morten Eek, said: “We have no plans to use this helicopter ever again, even if Norwegian authorities decides to lift the ban.
“It doesn’t matter what the Aviation Authority say. We can specify the helicopter type we want to use and we have already built up capacity with a different helicopter. The Sikorsky S-92.”
Super Puma H225s were banned in the wake of the fatal helicopter crash, which killed all 13 people on board.
A commercial traffic ban for the model as well as other Super Puma variants, the AS332 L2, remains in place in Norway and the UK.
Mr Faury said: “Airbus Helicopters takes note of Statoil’s safety concerns regarding helicopter offshore operations.
“I regret the timing of Statoil’s comments during a difficult time for the offshore community as a whole, at a time when we are working with the Norwegian authorities and investigation team to address the specific concerns regarding the return to service of the H225 and AS332 L2 in the region.
“We also continue to work with customers worldwide to ensure the safe operation of the more than 120 helicopters of the H225 and AS332 L2 family flying today.”
The victims of the crash were flying from Statoil’s Gullfaks B platform 110 miles north west of Bergen when the tragedy unfolded.
The helicopter plunged onto rocks on the rugged coastline near Turøy, just west of the village of Solsvik, 15miles from Bergen’s Flesland airport.
Data revealed the aircraft dropped 2,100 feet in the last 10 seconds of the flight.
Preliminary findings include the crash being caused by a technical fault casing the helicopter’s main rotor blades to separate from the aircraft.
Norwegian investigators are still investigating the crash.
The number of hours flown by Sikorsky S-92 helicopters in the North Sea has gone up 50% since Super Pumas were grounded.
The announcement comes after unions representing oil workers have expressed concern about the H225 helicopter and asked for a permanent ban.
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