PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AS332L2 Ditching off Shetland: 23rd August 2013
Old 19th Oct 2020, 14:44
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Nige321
 
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Enquiry ends...

An offshore helicopter crash in which four people died was caused by pilot error, an inquiry has ruled.

Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle said the Super Puma had not maintained the correct speed as it approached its landing in Shetland in 2013.

He said the reason for the error remained unknown - but that there had been "no wilful neglect" by the pilot.

A total of 18 people were on board when the helicopter hit the sea on its approach to Sumburgh.

The Super Puma overturned and filled with water, but it did not sink due to its flotation devices.

Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin; Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland; and George Allison, 57, of Winchester, drowned in the accident.

Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, who had cardiac disease, died from heart failure following the crash.

The inquiry also heard that one survivor, Sam Bull, took his own life four years later aged 28 after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pilot Martin Miglans and co-pilot Alan Bell were among those who escaped.
There was a 5th victim...
What a sad case...


Sam Bull was one of the first of the survivors to escape from a submerged helicopter after it crashed into the North Sea off Shetland.

He helped with the life rafts, and tried to resuscitate one of his fellow passengers - although those efforts would prove to be in vain.

The man he tried to save was one of four people who lost their lives on the day of the crash in August 2013.

Sam was haunted by the harrowing events. Four years later, at the age of 28, he took his own life after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

As the findings of a fatal accident inquiry are published, Sam's father Michael spoke to BBC Scotland News in the hope of raising awareness of the impact that trauma can have on people.
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