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Fatal North Sea helicopter crash could have been prevented, inquiry concludes Fatal North Sea helicopter crash could have been prevented, inquiry concludes
(about 4 hours later)
An accident inquiry into the fatal crash of a Super Puma helicopter in the North Sea which killed all 16 people on board has said it could have been prevented. Relatives of 16 men killed in a Super Puma helicopter crash in the North Sea have criticised the "intolerable" five-year wait for the findings of a judge-led inquiry into the tragedy.
Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle said he believed several failures by the helicopter's operators, Bond Offshore Helicopters, to properly deal with metal particles found in the engine during routine checks could have caused the crash. Audrey Wood, whose son Stuart was one of those killed when the helicopter crashed in 2009, said all the families felt let down by the system after a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) ruled that the crash could have been prevented.
The 14 passengers and two crew were almost certainly killed outright, he said, after the helicopter plunged into the North Sea off Peterhead on 1 April 2009 after a catastrophic gearbox failure, while the weather was clear and sunny and the sea was calm. Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle said he believed several failures by the helicopter's operators, Bond Offshore Helicopters, to properly deal with metal particles found in the engine during routine checks could have led to the crash.
Relatives of the 16 men have called for a criminal inquiry after Pyle's report was published on Thursday. The Super Puma plunged into the North Sea about 11 miles off Peterhead on 1 April 2009, during clear, calm and sunny conditions, after a catastrophic gearbox failure. The two crew and 14 oil workers were killed almost instantaneously by the force of the impact, Pyle found.
Bond acknowledged its staff played a key role in the accident. "We have always accepted that we made mistakes through honest confusion over telephone calls and emails," the firm said. Wood said the relatives were surprised and disappointed to hear the Crown Office again insist there was not enough evidence to justify a criminal investigation against Bond Offshore Helicopters for repeated breaches of health and safety rules.
"Lessons needed to be learned, lessons have been learned and lessons continue to be learned. We would like to express again our deep sorrow at the 16 lives lost." "How they arrived at that decision will haunt us, as not only did we hear of multiple breaches of health and safety, but the decision was also made without all the evidence being present, as vital witness statements had not been given," Wood said.
Eight of the passengers were killed by multiple injuries. "The indications were that the death was as a result of sudden deceleration and blunt force impact and there was nothing to suggest survival with subsequent drowning," the sheriff said. "Safety must be paramount and everything must be done by the book. There can be no excuse for not doing this. The length of wait for nearly five years has been intolerable for all the families and we, the families, feel let down by the system."
The other six passengers and two crew also died from multiple traumas. "The pattern of injury was entirely consistent with the circumstances and death would have been instantaneous," Pyle ruled. Their complaints were supported by the Scottish TUC and Scottish Labour MSPs, who demanded an overhaul of the FAI system set out in a bill from Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson at Holyrood. The Scottish government said it needed to consider Pyle's findings.
In his detailed decision following a long inquiry, Pyle said it was possible the accident was caused because Bond personnel had failed to carry out a series of tasks. Grahame Smith, the STUC's general secretary, said that since the FAI system was designed to investigate the causes of fatal accidents, a five-year delay was an unacceptably long time.
"It is vitally important that lessons are learned at the earliest opportunity following tragedies where lives are lost and any recommendations put in place to avoid further needless loss of life," he said.
Richard Baker MSP said: "Nearly five years is far too long for families to have to wait for these conclusions to be drawn, not to mention the many other people who travel to work by helicopter in the North Sea. FAIs should never be delayed so long again."
Pyle found all 16 passengers and crew were killed by multiple injuries. For eight of the victims, "the indications were that the death was as a result of sudden deceleration and blunt force impact and there was nothing to suggest survival with subsequent drowning," the sheriff said. The other eight died "instantaneously" from the force of the crash.
In his detailed decision following six weeks of hearings, Pyle said it was possible the accident was caused because Bond personnel had failed to carry out a series of tasks, but he could not be certain.
They did not remove a piece of machinery known as the epicyclic module after a metal particle was found, which suggested metal particles were shearing off in the engine. They failed to follow the correct communication procedures with the aircraft's manufacturer, Eurocopter, and failed to identify the type of metal in the particle.They did not remove a piece of machinery known as the epicyclic module after a metal particle was found, which suggested metal particles were shearing off in the engine. They failed to follow the correct communication procedures with the aircraft's manufacturer, Eurocopter, and failed to identify the type of metal in the particle.
He concluded: "The cause of the accident which resulted in said deaths was the catastrophic failure of the main rotor gearbox of the said helicopter on the said date, which was as a result of a fatigue fracture of a second stage planet gear in the epicyclic module and which caused the helicopter to descend into the sea."He concluded: "The cause of the accident which resulted in said deaths was the catastrophic failure of the main rotor gearbox of the said helicopter on the said date, which was as a result of a fatigue fracture of a second stage planet gear in the epicyclic module and which caused the helicopter to descend into the sea."
After the FAI heard detailed evidence about maintenance failures by Bond, the firm admitted it had made a series of "honest" mistakes. "We have always accepted that we made mistakes through honest confusion over telephone calls and emails," the firm said, in a statement.
"Lessons needed to be learned, lessons have been learned and lessons continue to be learned. We would like to express again our deep sorrow at the 16 lives lost."
The Crown Office said it sympathised with the relatives' over their wait, but insisted that the case was complex and there had already been police, Air Accident Investigation Branch and Civil Aviation Authority inquiries.
And in the new ruling, the sheriff confirmed there was still doubt over the precise technical cause of the crash. "For a criminal prosecution to have taken place, the Crown would have to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The sheriff principal makes clear that a reasonable doubt remained over the technical cause of the crash," the Crown Office said.
"The evidence presented during the FAI has not altered the insufficiency of evidence therefore the decision not to hold criminal proceedings remains the correct one." 　
Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the airline pilots union Balpa, said the sheriff's findings, which endorsed the findings of the Air Accident Investigation Branch, proved that "maintenance must never be treated lightly".
"The operator's maintenance failures, which have been drawn out in both the AAIB report and today's FAI report, are the main lesson for the industry," he said.
The two Bond crew members who died were Capt Paul Burnham, 31, from Aberdeenshire, and co-pilot Richard Menzies, 24, of Droitwich Spa.The two Bond crew members who died were Capt Paul Burnham, 31, from Aberdeenshire, and co-pilot Richard Menzies, 24, of Droitwich Spa.
The 14 civilians killed were Brian Barkley, 30, of Aberdeen, Vernon Elrick, 41, of Aberdeen, Leslie Taylor, 41, of Kintore, Aberdeenshire, Nairn Ferrier, 40, of Dundee, Gareth Hughes, 53, of Angus, David Rae, 63, of Dumfries, Raymond Doyle, 57, of Cumbernauld, James John Edwards, 33, of Liverpool, Nolan Goble, 34, of Norwich, and Mihails Zuravskis, 39, of Latvia, all employees of the contractor KCA Deutag.The 14 civilians killed were Brian Barkley, 30, of Aberdeen, Vernon Elrick, 41, of Aberdeen, Leslie Taylor, 41, of Kintore, Aberdeenshire, Nairn Ferrier, 40, of Dundee, Gareth Hughes, 53, of Angus, David Rae, 63, of Dumfries, Raymond Doyle, 57, of Cumbernauld, James John Edwards, 33, of Liverpool, Nolan Goble, 34, of Norwich, and Mihails Zuravskis, 39, of Latvia, all employees of the contractor KCA Deutag.
The other victims were James Costello, 24, of Aberdeen, who was working for Production Services Network, Alex Dallas, 62, of Aberdeen, who worked for Sparrows Offshore Services, Warren Mitchell, 38, of Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, who worked for Weatherford UK, and Stuart Wood, 27, of Aberdeen, who worked for Expro North Sea Ltd.The other victims were James Costello, 24, of Aberdeen, who was working for Production Services Network, Alex Dallas, 62, of Aberdeen, who worked for Sparrows Offshore Services, Warren Mitchell, 38, of Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, who worked for Weatherford UK, and Stuart Wood, 27, of Aberdeen, who worked for Expro North Sea Ltd.