Helicopter down in the North Sea nr Sumberg

[NutLoose]

Hoping they all are ok, reporting 18 pax onboard.

BBC News - Helicopter carrying 18 ditches near Shetland (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-23821083)



..

[Heathrow Harry]

Helicopter carrying 18 ditches near Shetland

A helicopter, believed to be carrying 18 people, has ditched west of Shetland.
Police Scotland said they have been told the incident happened west of Sumburgh airport.
The helicopter was operated by CHC, taking people to and from oil and gas platforms in the North Sea.
It is understood a ferry travelling between Shetland and Aberdeen has been diverted to the scene.
The RNLI said Aith and Lerwick lifeboats were launched at about 19:00.
There has been no information as to whether there are any casualties.

[murdoflys]

Any indication on the a/c type? What a/c type does CHC operate there?

[Flap40]

STV are reporting it as a Super Puma L2.

[Lonewolf_50]

Fleet (http://www.chc.ca/AboutCHC/Fleet/Pages/default.aspx)

Based on the number of folks in the news report, the models CHC operates which might be involved are:

S-92
EC225
AS332 (EDIT: aka Super Puma L2)
S-61

Hopefully, one of our CHC colleagues (some post over at Rotorheads forum) may be able to share.
EDIT:
Aberdeen flight schedule today had listed 39 events, though it looks as though four or five were already cancelled.

EDIT2:
http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/522069-ditching-off-shetland.html

Mods, suggest threads be merged.

[DaveReidUK]

"The RNLI said a search was ongoing for three people missing in the water. Some of those on board have been rescued but it is not clear how many."

Helicopter 'with 18 people on board' ditches in sea off Shetland | Aberdeen & North | News | STV (http://news.stv.tv/north/237159-helicopter-with-18-people-on-board-ditches-in-sea-off-shetland/)

[AtomKraft]

This is happening a bit too often these days.....

[RTN11]

Awful news on a helicopter type that has only recently been put back into service.

Very bad to hear that 3 are unaccounted for, this would be the first time that everyone wasn't picked up straight away for years.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out, if it's the gear box again then surely this is the end for this helicopter?

[Heathrow Harry]

BBC




A helicopter, believed to be carrying 18 people, has ditched west of Shetland.
The incident happened west of Sumburgh airport at about 19:00.


The helicopter was operated by CHC, taking people to and from oil and gas platforms in the North Sea.


Nine people have arrived in Lerwick after being flown there from the scene by coastguard rescue helicopter. One was taken off the flight by stretcher. The rest walked off the flight.


A ferry travelling between Shetland and Aberdeen was diverted to the scene.
The RNLI said Aith and Lerwick lifeboats were launched.

The police and ambulance service are standing by in Lerwick.


The BBC understands that they are anticipating a number of casualties being brought by rescue helicopter to the island.


A spokesman from Lerwick lifeboat station said two rescue helicopters have also been sent to the incident from Sumburgh airport.



Northlink Ferries confirmed that one of its ferries had been diverted. The vessel left Shetland and was heading to Aberdeen but was diverted back to the incident.


Police Scotland said they were aware of the incident and were working with the coastguard.


Investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) are travelling to the scene.


A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "The AAIB is aware of the incident and has deployed a team".
P

[Heathrow Harry]

The Coastguard said 15 people had been recovered from the sea. Three people remain unaccounted for and an air and sea search is continuing.

[PPRuNe Towers]

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/522069-as332l2-ditching-off-shetland-23rd-august-2013-a.html