Report raises questions

A cross party Transport Select Committee has published a new report on the Super Puma helicopter crash just off Shetland last August. The crash happened on the helicopter’s approach to Shetland’s Sumburgh Airport, killing four passengers.

It was the fifth Super Puma helicopter crash since 2009, involving workers from the oil and gas industry travelling to and from oil installations in the North Sea.

The committee referred to the examination of the crash by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents. The investigation raised questions on the pre-flight safety briefing material which did not fully reflect the type of emergency breathing equipment supplied to passengers — something the passengers only discovered when they tried to use the equipment.

The committee report also called for the AAIB to keep crash survivors better informed of their investigations.

During other enquiries, the committee found worrying evidence of a macho culture in the oil and gas industry. This included evidence of those raising questions about helicopter safety being told that they should leave the industry.

The Sumburgh crash led to the Civil Aviation Authority launching a review into offshore helicopter safety. The committee called for more than this and for a full public inquiry into offshore helicopter safety carried out by the Department for Transport.

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmtran/289/289.pdf