Tributes paid to helicopter victims
Tributes have been paid to the three men and one woman who died in a helicopter crash off Shetland.
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.
Ms Darnley was described as "a fun-loving free spirit". Mr Munro's family said he was a "fabulous father".
An investigation has not yet established the cause of the tragedy.
Another 14 people were rescued from the North Sea after the helicopter ditched.
The Super Puma AS332 L2 - carrying 16 passengers and two crew from the Borgsten Dolphin oil rig - apparently suffered a "catastrophic loss of power" at about 18:20 BST on Friday.
RNLI rescue co-ordinator Jim Nicholson said it appeared the aircraft had "suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing".
All Super Puma helicopter passenger flights to UK oil installations have been suspended following the incident.
Family's shock
Oil firm Total said the four who died worked for contract organisations.
Stork Technical Services paid tribute to its employee, Gary McCrossan.
Mike Mann, a senior vice president at the firm, said: "Our heartfelt condolences go out to Gary's family and to all of those affected by this tragedy. We are doing all we can to assist the family at this difficult time."
The family of Mr Munro described him as a "devoted husband".
In a statement, relatives said: "He will be sadly missed by everyone that knew him and his death will leave a large void in a lot of people's lives.
"His family would like to thank everyone for their kindness and support since they received the tragic news. They would also like to pass on their sincere condolences to the other families who have lost loved ones in this tragic incident."
Ms Darnley's mother Anne spoke of her family's shock and said her daughter was "a fun-loving free spirit".
She said in a statement: "She enjoyed her job. She had great camaraderie with her colleagues and over the years she made some fantastic friends whom she was able to visit in various parts of the world, including South America and Thailand.
"Sarah lived life to the full, she was easy-going and a one-off. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her."
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Three of the four bodies have been recovered. Coastguard authorities are working to recover the fourth body from the wreckage.
Work will then continue to locate the helicopter's black box data recorder.
Police Scotland said 12 of those rescued had arrived in Aberdeen. Two others were still being treated at the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.
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 two miles west of Sumburgh Airport on Friday, grounded its UK fleet and some models world-wide.
Bond and Bristow also suspended UK Super Puma flights.
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.
Bob Crow, general secretary of offshore union RMT, said there was a lack of workforce confidence in the Super Puma type aircraft, and unions had been working with the industry to address their members' concerns.
About 26,000 people work for more than 100 nights a year offshore in the UK.
Other aircraft serve the UK industry, including Agusta Westland helicopters. It is hoped other makes of helicopters can be drafted in to help ferry workers to and from oil installations.
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