Eurocopter to put EC225 through further tests
One of the EC255's which experienced technical difficulties in the North Sea
By FRANK URQUHART
Published on Wednesday 16 January 2013 12:30
EUROCOPTER which manufactures the North Sea helicopter at the centre of a dramatic offshore ditching in October is planning a further series of tests in a bid to finally identify the cause the incident, it was revealed today.
• Further tests planned on Eurocopter helicopters as root of fault still unclear
• “Potentially catastrophic” mechanical failure in gearbox had forced Super Puma EC225 model into North Sea ditching
• All Super Pumas, used to transport North Sea oil workers, have been grounded
The French manufacturer of the Super Puma EC225, has already carried out two series of tests to determine the cause of a “potentially catastrophic” mechanical failure in the gearbox of a Super Puma EC225 which was forced to ditch in the North Sea four months ago.
A crack in the main gear shaft was discovered after the chopper carried out a controlled ditching following indications of a failure of the main gearbox lubrication system and emergency lubrication system.
Eurocopter revealed in November that the warning of a lubrication system failure on the CHC-operated Super Puma was a false alarm - identical to the scenario in the ditching in May involving a Bond-operated Super Puma.
A spokesman for Eurocopter said today that further tests were still needed to positively identify the root cause.
He said: “For the past weeks, Eurocopter has continued to regularly communicate with oil and gas customers and operators and industry representatives concerning the EC225 main gearbox shaft failures, while respecting the confidentiality of the official accident investigation.
“The company has provided an overview of its approach to the root cause analysis performed during the past several weeks and has reported a most probable root cause. At this stage, this EC assumption has not been proven by tests.
“Based on this finding, Eurocopter has announced the launch of a third test campaign, to be initiated in late January, with more sophisticated evaluations that focus on the most probable cause. Bench test results are expected at the end of February. In addition, evaluations will continue on three alternative scenarios for the failures’ cause and all results will be shared with the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch.”
He added: “The overall methodology is also supported by an external company, Shainin Engineering, which participated in identifying the Airbus A380 wing crack issues.
“All 16 EC225s operating in the North Sea - one-fifth of the entire fleet - have been grounded since 22 October when the CHC-operated Super Puma EC225 was forced to ditch off Shetland. Another Super Puma EC225 ditched 30 miles off the coast of Aberdeen in May.
More tests planned to identify mystery fault plaguing North Sea helicopters - Transport - Scotsman.com