Complaint sent to the BBC
In the news article relating to the recent ditching of an EC225 helicopter in the N Sea, once again the BBC chooses Jim Ferguson to give his opinion on the event, as if it were fact. Unfortunately Mr Ferguson is just a plane spotter and has no technical nor operational experience of helicopter operations. Whenever he is called upon to give his opinion in such matters, he always gets his facts completely wrong, as is the case in this report where he makes completely incorrect statements when comparing this event to the ditching of the Bond helicopter in May - despite what he says, the two AAIB reports show that the problems were virtually identical. This is a sensitive subject up here for the offshore workforce, and the spread of mis-information does not help. I can appreciate that it might be difficult to get statements from people who actually know what they are talking about, but the BBC should resist using Jim even if there is no one else - the BBC should stick to facts as published by the relevant experts such as AAIB, or perhaps the manufacturers and operators (but remembering that they have vested interests). Rather than asking Jim Ferguson, why not just ask the old lady who works in the local laundrette - she would have just as accurate a picture of the facts as Jim does, and might be more entertaining!