Oil workers boycott helicopter - Times Online
From The Sunday Times
April 5, 2009
Oil workers boycott helicopter
Calls are mounting for all Super Puma AS 332L2s to be grounded amid safety fears following crashes in the North Sea and Brazil
Mark Macaskill and Julia Belgutay
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } FEARS have been raised over the safety of the type of helicopter that crashed into the North Sea last week, killing 16 people, after it emerged that oil workers in South America staged a six month boycott of the aircraft last year.
Members of the Brazilian Oil Workers’ Federation (FUP) refused to board any Super Puma AS 332L2 from February following an accident in the South Atlantic, which happened in circumstances similar to last week’s crash.
The helicopter was forced to ditch into the ocean 68 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, killing five of the 17 passengers and crew on board. The cause has still not been determined.
It followed two other fatal accidents involving the same type of aircraft in the South China Sea in January 2007 and November 2006.
The Brazilian offshore workers ended their boycott in September following a report on the crash from Petrobras, the state-owned oil company.
Aberdeen-based Bond Offshore Helicopters, which owned the Super Puma L2 which crashed into the sea about 14 miles off the Aberdeenshire coast on Wednesday, immediately suspended use of all L2s. Eurocopter, manufacturers of the aircraft, denied there was an issue with its safety.
Yesterday union leaders on both sides of the Atlantic called for all L2s to be grounded until the cause of the Scottish crash is known. “The best practice would be to ground this type of craft until after a full investigation of the accident,” said Jose Maria Rangel, co-ordinator for the Sindipetro union, which is affiliated with the FUP.
He added: “Of all the aircraft that Petrobras use, the Super Puma L2 is the one that has the most problems. Its cost/benefit ratio is terrible as it spends so much time on the ground with mechanical problems. After the accident last year union members boycotted it.
“After six months Petrobras presented us with a report that claimed evidence of mechanical problems with the craft was inconclusive. Workers started to use the Super Puma L2 again but feel less safe on this aircraft than others and even today there are times when workers will refuse to board it.”
Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, said: “We think it is appropriate to ground that particular model until we find out why it just fell out of the sky. It’s difficult \ to hold the position the model is safe seeing as they have just lost an aircraft.
“With three fatal crashes in recent years, that will raise further concern especially as the cause of the crash in Brazil still hasn’t been determined.”
Efforts to recover the wreckage of the Super Puma in the North Sea were continuing yesterday amid speculation that a “catastrophic” mechanical failure caused the accident. The bodies of eight men have not yet been recovered.
Officials from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch are keen to retrieve the aircraft’s black box which is likely to yield clues. A three-man team has been sent by Eurocopter, the French manufacturer of the Super Puma 332L2, to Aberdeen to assist the investigation.
The Queen sent a letter of condolence to the families of the victims. Gordon Brown, the prime minister, and Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, also expressed their sorrow.