EASA v UK & Norway CAA
What is going on with EASA?
They are going against the advice of both the UK and Norwegian CAA's, who are arguably the most experienced airworthiness authorities regarding offshore helicopters in the world.
EASA agree with the UK & Norwegian CAA's that the cause of the latest 225 accident is not understood yet. But even so EASA are prepared to take a risk and allow it to fly commercially, although admittedly with fairly restrictive daily maintenance.
This is not joined-up governance. Some people have suggested this is curiously advantageous timing for Airbus just before Helitech week. For all our sake's let's hope the EASA decision is based more on fact than political expediency.