Glad to see that no-one was hurt.
Here is the ABZ P&J story.
Probe under way into helicopter accident
by Angela Taylor
A MAJOR investigation was under way last night to establish why a helicopter tipped over on the deck of a drilling ship, injuring the co-pilot.
Coastguards and offshore union officials said the incident, off Shetland, could easily have had devastating consequences.
The Aberdeen-based CHC Scotia helicopter had flown 12 crew members to the West Navion ship, then refuelled onboard.
It was preparing to return to Aberdeen at about 1.10pm on Saturday when it rolled on to its side in gale-force winds.
The rotor blades were still turning as the Super Puma helicopter rolled and it is understood one blade struck the co-pilot, breaking his leg.
He had been standing nearby, supervising the refuelling of the helicopter, when it rolled.
The pilot, who was the only person on board the aircraft at the time, is thought to have clambered out of the helicopter.
The co-pilot – who suffered a "nasty leg injury" according to coastguards – was winched into a coastguard helicopter and taken to hospital. Neither he nor the pilot have been named.
The ship – owned by Norwegian firm Smedvig – was operating in the Assynt field, about 78 miles from Shetland.
She was being used to carry out drilling work in the Assynt well for BP and was scheduled to continue that work for about another fortnight, although all work has been suspended in the wake of the accident, a spokesman for the oil company said.
Last night, it was still unclear exactly why the Super Puma capsized.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident, while BP is also conducting investigations in conjunction with the HSE.
An internal investigation by CHC Scotia is also under way.
Jake Molloy, secretary of the offshore workers union OILC, said the crew were "very lucky indeed" that the incident had not been worse.
He said: "I was a helicopter lander when I was offshore for 17 years. I've never come across a helicopter being blown over. If there was a pitch and roll of four to five metres you must be looking at the limits for safe landings and take-offs.
"If it was sitting steady on the deck I can only imagine it was pitch and roll that caused the problem."
The rescue operation was co-ordinated by staff at Aberdeen Coastguard, assisted by their Shetland colleagues.
According to a spokesman, the West Navion was pitching and rolling between four and five metres. A westerly wind was blowing at 33knots – gale force seven to eight – and visibility was 4,000m.
Shetland Coastguard's Sumburgh-based helicopter, Rescue Oscar Charlie, flew out to the ship and winched the injured man on board. He was taken to Gilbert Bain Hospital, in Lerwick, and later transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he was last night said to be "comfortable".
The Super Puma was lashed to the deck of the vessel to prevent it toppling into the sea.
Coastguard winchman Friedie Manson said: "We were told before we arrived there that one of the pilots had a severely broken leg and that the other pilot was unhurt, just shaken.
"Amazingly, nobody else was hurt in the accident."
Captain of the coastguard helicopter, Mark Jackson, said the winching operation was not as straightforward as he would have liked.
"The difficulty, initially, was to try winching him from the stern. But it was so turbulent that we couldn't do it.
"So we had a little think about it. We spoke to the captain of the West Navion and came up with the idea to winch him from the helideck where the helicopter was lying on its side," he said.
"We winched from a height, so we did not affect the chopper at all, and that was relatively straightforward."
The BP spokesman said measures had been taken to prevent further problems on the ship.
"The helideck on the drill ship has been isolated and, as a precautionary measure, foam has been used to make the aircraft safe. The well has not been affected by the accident and has been made safe."
The crew due to be taken off the boat will have to remain on board until the damaged aircraft has been removed.
They will not have to work while they wait for transport, the BP spokesman said.
He added that the vessel has the capacity to accommodate the extra staff and there would be no bed shortages.
No helicopters will be able to land on the West Navion until the damaged helicopter has been removed.
Large cranes will have to be used to carry out the salvage operation. It has not yet been decided whether to get heavy lifting gear taken out to the West Navion or have the ship brought back to shore.
It is not known how long it would take to get a crane to the site.
BP will work in conjunction with Scotia and Smedvig to arrange removal of the helicopter.
The rotor blades of the helicopter were damaged when it rolled, the BP spokesman said. It was unclear yesterday whether there was any further damage.
"Until investigations are carried out no one is going near the craft," he said.
The rotor blades cut into the helideck causing some superficial damage, but this will not cause any operational difficulties.
The Super Puma is made by Eurocopter, a French-German consortium, and can take 20 passengers.
It is 18.7-metres long and has a top speed of 165mph and a range of 540 miles.
The disabled helicopter could be removed from the West Navion in a number of ways. Experts said the most likely method used to remove it would be by crane, either on shore or offshore.
The West Navion has been modified into a drilling rig so she can carry out drilling operations. She can manoeuvre like a ship but she has a drilling platform on board, so she can move from well to well. She was in the middle of a drilling programme at the time of the incident.
The drama could potentially have been much worse, if the aircraft had gone into the water or the rotors had struck the drilling equipment, the Aberdeen Coastguard spokeswoman said.
"It was a very, very unfortunate accident, but it's one of these things that could have been a lot worse. Safety measures were put into play immediately, preventing it being worse. Luckily, nobody was in the sea or more seriously injured. If the helicopter had gone into the sea it would have been a lot worse."
Twelve men were killed when the Super Puma helicopter they were travelling in crashed off the coast of Norway in September, 1997. It disappeared while on a flight to the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea. Super Pumas were voluntarily grounded for a short time after the crash.