North Sea Chopper Ditch

[Anonymous]

Initial report is now out on the recent Bond helicopter crash.

It appears to have been a "catastrophic failure of the gearbox". Tho as to the reason, they do not know.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7994305.stm

Here they say that:

Examination of the wreckage indicates that the accident occurred following a catastrophic failure of
the main rotor gearbox (MGB). This resulted in the detachment of the main rotor head from the
helicopter and was rapidly followed by main rotor blade strikes on the pylon and tail boom, which
became severed from the fuselage. It is apparent that there was also a rupture in the right hand (No2)
engine casing, in the plane of the second stage power turbine. This is currently believed to be a
secondary feature. Investigations are continuing in order to understand completely the accident
sequence.

Sobering thought to plummet out of the sky like that.

[rovkaka]

so .. 4 more safe now crew change by boat
getting afraid to be chopper again 😳

[Rons_ROV_Links]

Yes, transferring personnel by boat is safe… Read here and here.

Guess travelling by helicopter or airplane is still more safe than travelling by car.

[Ray Shields]

Today of all days – things you don’t want to hear the Pilot say on the intercom 10 minutes after you have taken off:-

"We have encountered a bit of a technical problem we are not happy with so we are returning to the airport"

1 hour later, we leave on a replacement S61. I dont think I’ll bother mentioning it to the wife!

The pilot was very good, he came in after we landed and explained that they felt there was more vibration than normal from the blades and decided "given recent events and ultra cautiousness" to return and swap out for the other aircraft.

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

Flew back from Malta this week, then visited two platforms. One in Southern North Sea, one above Shetland.
9 Flights in all, and the only problem encountered was on a fixed wing.

While sitting on the aircraft at Aberdeen airport, heard that dreaded, "We are experiencing problems with the engines, but it’s ok. An engineer is coming to look at it",
Turned out to be engine speed imbalance, according to the crew. They fixed it and we took off without further problems.

All the chopper flights were fine.

If that had been a chopper with the problem, or the press had been onboard, it would have been all over the front pages.
As it was, everyone acted professionally and all flights were fine.

Well done to all the crews who have worked through this difficult time, and re assured all those people who have had to fly.

[Author]

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