Helicopter crashed off Norway

Maritime News Marine Incidents
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A tragic accident happened off Norway this weekend. A Super Puma Helicopter carrying Oilfield workers going home from the Gulfaks B Platform on the Norwegian OCS crashed just before landing in Bergen.
All 13 on board died, 11 Norwegians, 1 Brit (Scotshman) and 1 Italian (The Pilot)
Here is the report in today’s gCaptain Newsletter: https://gcaptain.com/offshore-community-mourns-victims-of-helicopter-crash-in-norway/?utm_source=gCaptain+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d1246fc842-Mailchimp_RSS_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f50174ef03-d1246fc842-169863069
What is not mentioned here is that the entire rotor assembly came off in flight and was seen spinning to the ground intact, landing 2-300 m. from where the fuselage ended up:

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This has never been happened before, says the head of Eurocopters UK, but has it?: http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i-2009-loesnet-denne-rotoren-fra-et-super-puma-helikopter/a/23672385/

One more thing that is not mentioned is that Statoil shut in production at Gullfaks B and sent Priests, Psychologists and Management personnel to the field to help the people out there overcome the trauma.

Statoil and the Norwegian Government promise that no effort or money will be speared to find the reason for this accident, the worst in the Norwegian Oil & Gas Industry since a helicopter crash killed 12 in 2009.
Let’s hope something good can come from this, not just big talk just after the event.

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Eurocopter has ordered all air crafts of this model to be put on the ground until further notice.

Here is a video that shows the rotor spinning in the air after parting from the helicopter body, which dropped like a stone. Not even a MayDay was sent: http://www.tv2.no/a/8269925/#_ga=1.108898241.276235913.1442304295

The dialogue is in Norwegian, but those pictures of a rotor flying like a Frisbee speaks for itself.

I have never heard about, or seen, anything like this. Has anybody else?

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CEO of Statoil have visited the people onboard the Gullfaks B Platform today: http://www.dagbladet.no/2016/05/02/nyheter/statoil/turoyulykke/helikopter/44081168/

He wanted to show sympathy with the people who lost friends and colleagues yesterday by actually making a helicopter trip out there from Stavanger. Only one of the dead actually worked for Statoil, the rest was Contractors from four different companies + 2 Pilots from CHC Helicopterservice:

Production at the platform has been re-started at the request of the offshore personnel who would rather get back to normal routine than just sit idle and brood over what happen. They are probably also thinking of their own trip to shore in the nearest days.

Norske Shell is dropping CHC until things get a little clearer: http://www.dagbladet.no/2016/05/02/nyheter/flyulykker/luftfart/olje_og_energi/44089823/

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[QUOTE=ombugge;183977]

I have never heard about, or seen, anything like this. Has anybody else?[/QUOTE]

We used to call the nut that held the rotor on the mast the “Jesus Nut”. Reason being that if the nut failed, that’s who you’d be talking to. Used to be a part of every pre-flight inspection because it was a “single point of failure”.

I was under the impression that modern helicopter designs had more redundancy for things like that, but I may be wrong.

Det er så veldig trist.

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We still do call it the Jesus nut

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and this is after other guys have been killed due to a floored design of the oil pump gear on the main shaft that was fixed or was it?

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The preliminary report from the Investigators are ready: http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/Investigators-release-preliminary-report-into-Norway-H225-crash

Meanwhile Statoil will look at their own routines: http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/Statoil-to-investigate-Norway-helicopter-crash

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A Russian helicopter that crashed on svalbard MAY have been found:

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This is a Mi-8, and possibly the chopper that crashed?

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The average water surface temperature in the Barents Sea in the months of October and November is between 5.2 C and 2.6 C. Normal body temperature is around 37 C. Even if anybody survived the crash they would be doomed rapidly in those water temperatures.

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Here is a picture of the actual helicopter:

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Here is latest news from vg.no:

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The Russians wants to have their own rescue capability at their Kapp Heer Base:

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The wreck has been found. Here is a pix:

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Link:

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685 feet down. Sounds like they are going to try to raise the aircraft? They do not mention the name of the ship that will perform the operation of lifting the aircraft off of the seabed.

The aircraft passengers were miners and researchers, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

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This is the ship that will salvage the helicopter wreck according to Svalbard Posten:


Unfortunately the article is behind a pay wall. but here is specs for the vessel:

PS> Official confirmation directly from the “horses mouth”:
https://www.aibn.no/Om-oss/Nyhetsarkiv/Helikopterulykke-pa-Svalbard-Havarikommisjonen-monstrer-pa-bergingsfartoy

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The helicopter was recovered last night:

Same from CBC in English:

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