All Super Puma helicopter passenger flights to UK oil installations were suspended after a crash off Shetland claimed the lives of four people.
The Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) advised this should include four different models.
CHC, which operated the helicopter that crashed two miles west of Sumburgh Airport on Friday, confirmed it would follow the advice.
Bond helicopters had already said it would ground its Super Puma fleet.
An investigation has not yet established the cause of the tragedy.
The HSSG's advice allows for the use of search and rescue helicopters for emergency response.
"Start Quote
End Quote Sarah Darnley's mother, AnneSarah lived life to the full, she was easy-going and a one-off. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her"
It said it would meet again on Wednesday to review its position, and would reconvene before then if any significant information came to light.
The Super Puma series of helicopters includes the variants: AS332 L, L1, L2 and EC225.
HSSG said while there were "significant technical differences" between the variants, a cautious approach was needed until more was understood about what caused the crash.
Super Puma manufacturer Eurocopter said the firm was "supporting CHC and relevant authorities with their investigations".
Three of the four bodies have been recovered. Police Scotland confirmed 14 others on board were rescued.
Coastguard authorities said late on Saturday that they were unlikely to recover the wreckage in the dark or in current weather conditions.
Continue reading the main storyIt was a Super Puma AS332 L2, carrying 16 passengers and two crew from the Borgsten Dolphin oil rig, which ditched in the North Sea at about 18:20 on Friday.
The people who died were Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester.
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."
Police Scotland said 12 of those rescued had arrived in Aberdeen. Two others were still being treated at the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.
Specialist police have been deployed to Shetland to work with local officers and other agencies on the crash investigation.
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.
RNLI rescue co-ordinator Jim Nicholson said the helicopter had apparently suffered a "catastrophic loss of power".
He said it appeared the aircraft had "suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing".
Scotland's Finance Secretary, John Swinney, said it was "still too early to know what caused this terrible tragedy" but added that "a full investigation by the relevant authorities is already under way".
"We are continuing to work closely with all partner agencies who have been involved in this rescue and recovery operation and I have been closely liaising with trade unions representatives about the safety of staff using the helicopters," he added.
He said he did not anticipate that CHC's temporary grounding of Super Puma L2 flights would "have any immediate impact on the production of oil and gas in the North Sea but we will continue to monitor this situation closely".
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.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Helicopters grounded after crash
Dengan url
http://sarapanoatmeal.blogspot.com/2013/08/helicopters-grounded-after-crash.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Helicopters grounded after crash
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Helicopters grounded after crash
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar