Helicopter victims brought ashore
The wreckage of the Super Puma helicopter which crashed off Shetland, killing four people, is to be brought ashore by a salvage vessel later.
Investigators will then try to find out why the helicopter apparently had such a sudden "catastrophic loss of power".
All companies operating Super Pumas in the North Sea have suspended services.
It is the fifth time in four years a Super Puma has come down in the North Sea - a safety record described by the Unite union as "unacceptable".
The salvage operation took place in thick mist in Quendale Bay, off the southern tip of Shetland, on Sunday.
The wreckage of the helicopter has been lifted onto the deck of the vessel Bibby Polaris which is due to arrive at a mainland port later.
It is hoped information on the helicopter's black box data recorder will help air accident investigators to establish the cause of the crash.
Bodies recovered
RNLI rescue co-ordinator Jim Nicholson has said it appears the aircraft "suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing".
Footage from the RNLI shows the salvage operation, as Laura Bicker reports
Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, died in the incident.
Their bodies have been recovered.
Two of the 14 people rescued remain in hospital.
The Super Puma AS332 L2 had been carrying 16 passengers and two crew from the Borgsten Dolphin oil rig when it crashed at about 18:20 BST on Friday.
The Shetland coastguard crew was alerted to the crash by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at RAF Kinloss, in Moray, which said an inbound helibus had disappeared off the radar.
The Helicopter Safety Steering Group - which is made up of oil industry representatives - plans to meet again on Wednesday to review its position on the grounding of Super Pumas, and said it would reconvene before then if any significant information came to light.
PREVIOUS NORTH SEA INCIDENTS
- October 2012 - All 19 people on board a Super Puma EC225 were rescued safely after it put down in the sea off Shetland. The incident was caused by a cracked shaft in the main gearbox
- May 2012 - All 14 people on board a Super Puma EC225 were rescued when it came down about 30 miles off the coast of Aberdeen during a flight to an oil rig
- April 2009 - All 14 passengers and two crew on board a Super Puma AS332L2 lost their lives after it came down in the North Sea. Eight of the victims came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia. A fatal accident inquiry is planned for October
- February 2009 - A Super Puma EC225 ditched in fog a short distance from a BP oil platform in the ETAP field, 125 miles east of Aberdeen. All 18 people on board survived. Crew error and a faulty alert system were blamed
CHC, which operated the helicopter that crashed ton Friday, grounded its UK fleet and some models worldwide.
Rival operators Bond and Bristow also suspended UK Super Puma flights.
Super Puma manufacturer, Eurocopter, thanked those involved in the search and rescue operations for "prompt action" which had "saved many lives".
Last year, Super Puma helicopters crashed in two incidents, one off Aberdeen and another off Shetland, but these involved the EC225 variety of the aircraft.
All passengers and crew were rescued in both incidents which were found to have been caused by gearbox problems.
Super Puma EC225s were grounded following the crashes but were given the go-ahead to resume flying again earlier this month.
Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of the Unite union, said: "This is the fifth major incident in the last four years involving Super Puma helicopters in the UK offshore industry and the second resulting in fatalities. It's unacceptable and it can't go on."
About 26,000 people work for more than 100 nights a year offshore in the UK.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
Posts
No comments: