Super Pumas fly again
HELICOPTER operators Bristow are the first company to resume flying Super Puma aircraft after last month’s fatal crash off Shetland.
Flights of all Super Puma choppers in the UK offshore oil and gas were suspended immediately after the crash killed four out of 18 people on board on 23 August pending an investigation.
The suspension has caused major problems for the offshore industry as Super Pumas are the most widely used aircraft in the sector.
On Monday Bristow started operating the AS332 L model, not the same as the AS332 L2 that was involved in the accident.
One of the first passengers to use the aircraft on Tuesday was Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne who was attending the biennial Offshore Europe exhibition in Aberdeen.
There was a minute’s silence for the victims of the crash before Osborne paid tribute to them in his speech.
Efforts are being made by industry and unions to reassure oil and gas workers that the aircraft are safe despite the crash, an explanation of which has yet to be discovered.
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