Helicopter safety checks ordered

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Helicopter operators are carrying out fresh safety checks on two types of Super Puma used to carry offshore workers.

The European Aviation Safety Agency ordered the inspections after reports of a mechanical issue that could affect aircraft control.

The directive was issued after cracks were found in the sections of the aircraft which protects the gearbox.

It came in the wake of the the North Sea Super Puma crash, which killed 16.

Sea crash

The safety agency's instructions related to a problem first highlighted in 2005, prompting fears it could ultimately leave pilots unable to steer properly.

Since then, several directives have ordered regular inspections.

Eurocopter had offered a modification to the part in question - the fairing gutter - but the discovery of new cracks prompted the demand for fresh checks on AS332 and EC225 Super Pumas.

Operators Bond, Bristow and CHC said they were now carrying out inspections on their North Sea fleets.

In April, a Bond flight crashed into the sea off Peterhead, killing 16 men.

It was the result of a "catastrophic" gearbox failure, which separated the main rotor from the aircraft, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found.