SAR Helicopter crashed off Norway

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From Gcaptain Newsletter today:

Six Rescued After Helicopter Crashes Offshore Norway

Note: This helicopter was NOT on a regular trip with crews to/from platforms in the North Sea.
The helicopter was associated with the SAR service for the Oseberg area in the North Sea.
At the time of the accident, the helicopter was engaged in a search and rescue exercise on behalf of Equinor.

Latest from Norwegian broadcaster NRK:

Helikopterulykken utenfor Bergen: Equinor i dyp sorg

The police report that there were five men and one woman on board the helicopter that crashed. Equinor confirms that the woman who died was employed as a nurse by them.
The sixth person, who was confirmed dead on Wednesday evening, is a woman in her 60s who was employed by Equinor. The woman’s next of kin have been notified, the police report.

From the Timeline:
28.02.24, at 19.41 The helicopter hits the water
The helicopter hits the water. An emergency message is then sent out via an emergency bearing transmitter in the helicopter. The message comes to the Main Rescue Center in Southern Norway. Boats in the area are asked to watch for a helicopter heading towards the water.

28.02.24, around 21: Rescue helicopter lands on Haukeland.
The rescue helicopter from the Norwegian Armed Forces lands with the first five people who were picked up from the sea on the helipad of Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen.

28.02.24, at 21.19: The last person is lifted up from the sea
The sixth and last person is lifted from the sea by the rescue helicopter from Florø and taken to the hospital.

28.02.24, at 21.50: The rescue operation is over

29.02.24, at 00.30: One person dead
The police confirm that one person has died. Another is slightly injured, while the remaining four have varying degrees of damage

On Thursday afternoon, this is the status of the five survivors of the accident:

• One person is critically injured.
• One person is seriously injured.
• Three people are slightly injured.

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There is a shortage of spare parts for S-92s, I wonder if this might be a factor in the crash.

It is very difficult for operators to get new gear boxes.

Sikorsky Tackles S-92 Supply Chain | AIN

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Slightly off topic but I’ve heard a people say that allegedly Bristow are one of the worst operators to fly with if flying offshore from Aberdeen in the UK. I heard the security checks can very very unhygienic and dirty, they go from passenger to passenger touching everything in your bags without changing rubber gloves. you almost get treated like a suspected terrorist not someone who is going to their work.

They say that NHV is one of the better operators in the UK, passengers are treated with respect and not as suspected terrorists.

I don’t understand why getting a flight from a heliport is so much more stressful than getting one from an airport. Historically there was allegedly a lot of steroid use on offshore platforms in the UK sectors, so security was tightened up to get check bags for steroids. But instead of that they should increase drug testing.

It’s not fair that everyone gets treated like terrorists going to their work just because of some steroid users, there should be an increase in drug and alcohol testing to catch the drug users that way instead.

Also bringing in criminal background checks would screen out bad characters.

A combination of drug testing and criminal background checks would make working offshore a more pleasant experience for normal people, instead of making everyone suffer at heliports.

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Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority is now talking about grounding S-92A.

That will be a big problem, I think that is the only model that is used on the Norwegian sector.

Different operators in the UK sector use a mixture of the S-92 and the H175.

The H175 doesn’t have as good de-icing capabilities in comparison to the S-92, so can’t fly as much in the winter. But at least they can actually get spare parts for the H175.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/one-dead-five-injured-norway-helicopter-crash-2024-02-29/

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@Ladder

That will be a big problem, I think that is the only model that is used on the Norwegian sector.

Yes that is a fact that MAY become a major dilemma for the operators and offshore workers in Norway.
Right now Equinor has cancelled all flights to/from their installations until tomorrow 10AM.

29 February 2024 at 17:14

Equinor is awaiting helicopter transport until Friday at 10 a.m

Information director Sissel Rinde tells NTB.

Helicopter traffic has been put on hold throughout Thursday following the helicopter accident on Wednesday evening.

Earlier on Thursday, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said that the company’s aviation experts should continuously assess when air traffic could resume, and that it would be safe to fly in the North Sea when helicopter traffic resumed.

Source: Equinor avventer helikoptertransport til fredag klokka 10 – NRK Vestland

There have been three serious accidents with S-92s in Norway, but itv is still regarded as the safes helicopter avilable:
The helicopter type is considered the safest in the North Sea. Nevertheless, several serious incidents have occurred in recent years. - They are safe, experts say.

The accident outside Sotra is what people here are talking about. The reactions are shock and disbelief because it was not expected that this would happen, says Fjeldsbø.
He calls the Sikorsky S-92 a solid workhorse that has more than 2.3 million flight hours in the North Sea.

• The helicopter has been a good helicopter and is a good helicopter. There have been no fatal accidents with this type of helicopter in the past in Norway.

Source: Helikopterulykken utenfor Sotra: Tre alvorlige hendelser med samme Sikorsky-modell – NRK Rogaland – Lokale nyheter, TV og radio

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On Friday morning, helicopter flights on the Norwegian continental shelf started again. All helicopter traffic offshore has been at a standstill since Wednesday evening, as a result of the helicopter crash outside Sotra on Wednesday evening.

Source: Gjenopptar helikopterflyvninger på norsk sokkel – NRK Rogaland – Lokale nyheter, TV og radio

Status per this morning:

Six people were on board the helicopter.

• Reidun Hestetun (61) has been confirmed dead.
• One man is seriously injured, but no longer critically injured.
• Two men are slightly injured.
• Two men have been discharged from hospital.

Nurse Reidun Hestetun (61) died in the helicopter accident. The picture was taken in an article in Sykepleien in 2018. PHOTO: EIRIK M. SUNDT / NURSING

Reidun Hestetun was employed at Equinor. She worked there as a nurse.

• The deceased was a nurse who has been with us for several decades. We have lost a very respected and dear colleague who was incredibly dedicated in his work to ensure the safety of others, said Equinor CEO Opedal, outside the relatives’ center on Thursday.

It was this helicopter that steered west of Sotra on Wednesday evening. Photographed here over Flesland in January. PHOTO: LEON ANDERSEN / PRIVATE

Source: Redningshelikopter på øvelse styrta utanfor Sotra – desse seks var involverte i ulukka – NRK Vestland

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NRK Vestland this morning: Helikopterstyrten utenfor Sotra: Helsetilstanden forbedret – NRK Vestland

Three inspectors are now on board the search ship Normand Ocean and are looking for the wreck of the helicopter involved in the accident at Øygarden at a depth of 300 metres:

DISCOVERIES EXPECTED DURING THE NIGHT: This ship has returned to the scene of the accident on Friday evening with three inspectors from the Accident Investigation Board on board.
PHOTO: ROSA IREN VILLALOBOS / NRK

• How long do you think you will last before you find it?
• If everything goes according to plan, and we have both a bit of luck and skill with us, then this can go quickly. That is, during the next 10–12 hours.

The hope is that the so-called black box is still inside the wreckage. It probably contains data that can explain what happened before and during the accident. The box also sends a signal that makes it possible to locate the wreck.

Update late friday night:
The police confirmed that the wreckage from the helicopter crash outside Sotra, west of Bergen has been found.

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The wreckage of the helicopter that crashed outside Sotra on Wednesday has been raised from a depth of 220 metres.

The wreck was found upside down at a depth of over 200 metres, reports the Accident Investigation Board:

The wreck was recovered by Normand Oceaon Saturday:

And secured on deck for transport:

The CSV Normand Ocean transported the wreck to Haakonsvern, which is the Norwegian Navy’s base in Bergen:

The wreck being discharge from CSV Normand Ocean:

The helicopter on the wharf at Haakonsvern Naval Base.

• The wreck is reasonably intact. We got it up in one piece, and can see that it has hit the surface of the water with the nose and the cockpit first, says Halvorsen.
  - The way the wreckage looks now, does it indicate a controlled emergency landing or steered?
• We will look at this together, with data from the logbook and what we have heard from those who were on board, Halvorsen replies and adds:
• The damage up front indicates that there has been a relatively strong encounter with the sea surface, but we also know that several people have also got out of the helicopter.
  NRK receives confirmation that the tachograph with audio recording has been found and will be analysed. Halvorsen refers to the logbook, together with witness interviews, as the very key to understanding what has happened.
• We will immediately take the tachograph to a laboratory in England, together with a representative from the manufacturer Sikorsky, says Halvorsen.
  Halvorsen says that the Accident Investigation Board works closely with the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority, the operator and the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
  The collaboration will ensure that immediate action is taken, if the investigation reveals technical faults with the Sikorsky helicopter.
  - The helicopter type has not been put on the ground by any country now. So far, we have not found anything that indicates technical errors that make it necessary, says Halvorsen to NRK and emphasizes that the investigation is still in the initial phase.

Source: Helikopteret som havarerte utenfor Sotra fraktes nå til Haakonsvern – NRK Vestland