The
PR blitz against the Chinook is surely a figment of SASLess` very fertile imagination. Bristow conducted an in depth study of the Chinook as it did with the Super Puma. It was felt that, whilst the range and payload were impressive, it would create problems for oil installations having that number of passengers descend on them at one go and numerous installations would have to upgrade their helidecks to take the beast. In addition, the attractions of so called new technology and improved safety features of the AS 332 scored over the BV 234.
At the end of the day, the deciding factor was cost and Aerospatiale, as they were in those days, offered a huge discount for the 35 machines ordered.
In practice, the decision was justified on many levels. Not only did the BV 234 not live up to its performance specifications through mechanical shortcomings but it proved hugely unpopular with the bears. Anyone who witnessed passengers boarding would compare it to the most undignified rush for Ryanair or Easyjet in order to avoid certain seats. The levels of vibration were unacceptably high for public transport sectors. As part of a trial, some pilots were invited to fly with rectal thermometers in place to assess body core temperature as a result of excess vibration.
The point is that the BV 234 did itself in without any help from anyone else.
As regards the point of the thread, I am at a loss to understand why anyone would think that the S92 would not cut it as an SAR platform or, indeed, the AB 139. What performance problems could the 139 possibly have?