Magjam
28th Nov 2016, 10:36
Article from TV2's news site yesterday:
Norway pressured to use accident helicopters (http://www.tv2.no/a/8755851/)
Translation:
Norway pressured to use accident helicopters
TV 2 can reveal that the oversight branch EASA, which assures Norways adherence to agreementes with the EU, demands that Norway lifts the ban as it has been lifted in the rest of the EU.
In Norway, two types of the so-called Super Puma-helicopters are grounded due to safety concerns, after the Turøy accident in April.
The EASA considers that the necessary safety measures have been initiated, and that one now knows the cause of the accident, which was a fatique-crack in a gear inside the gearbox.
But this is not good enough for the Norwegian CAA, which states that the root-cause of the accident itself is still unknown: In that, how did the fatigue-crack really develop and why was this not discovered earlier?
- Against common sense
TV 2s revelation shock several offshore workers who do not wish to fly in the Super Puma on their way to and from their workplace, until the NAAIB knows everything about why the accident occured.
- It is against all common sense to commence flying with the Super Puma, when one has not received an answer. In that case, there is not a lot of respect shown with regards to the people who (would) use it daily, says Arne Geir Mehl, organisational secreteray of Industri Energi.
Mehl himself flies often and has had hundreds of helicopter flights to and from the North Sea.
- Do not want to go to work
- I don't like it at all that they are considering to commence flying again. There have been a few incidents in the British sector, and similarly now with the one we had in the Norwegian sector. Personally I don't think I will go to work if I know that it will come back, says Nina Grindheim-Hella, who work as a helideck crewmember in the North Sea.
13 People died in the Turøy accident outside Bergen. The EASA is now putting pressure on Norway, who has chosen to maintain the ban since the safety measures that have been initiated after the accident, are not sufficient.
- It is not OK to be forced into something that you feel is unsafe. We work in the oil business where there is a lot of focus on safety. This sounds strange, says North Sea worker Ole Westhrin.
- Does it frighten you?
- It is not a pleasant feeling, Westhrin says to TV 2.
- We live in Norway, we must be allowed to have our own regulations regarding these things. There is zero confidence in the Super Puma. The North Sea workforce does not want it in Norway, Mehl states, from Industri Energi.
Experts in Norway support ban
TV 2s revelation about the EASA pushing to have the ban lifted in Norway is not well received by Norwegian helicopter safety experts.
- Samarbeidsforum (cooperation forum) supports the Norwegian CAAs handling of this case. We think it is important that we get the NAAIBs conclusion and that Airbus accounts for the resasoning behind allowing continued use of these helicopters, Anders Røsok says, leader of the Samarbeidsforum for helicopter safety on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Norway pressured to use accident helicopters (http://www.tv2.no/a/8755851/)
Translation:
Norway pressured to use accident helicopters
TV 2 can reveal that the oversight branch EASA, which assures Norways adherence to agreementes with the EU, demands that Norway lifts the ban as it has been lifted in the rest of the EU.
In Norway, two types of the so-called Super Puma-helicopters are grounded due to safety concerns, after the Turøy accident in April.
The EASA considers that the necessary safety measures have been initiated, and that one now knows the cause of the accident, which was a fatique-crack in a gear inside the gearbox.
But this is not good enough for the Norwegian CAA, which states that the root-cause of the accident itself is still unknown: In that, how did the fatigue-crack really develop and why was this not discovered earlier?
- Against common sense
TV 2s revelation shock several offshore workers who do not wish to fly in the Super Puma on their way to and from their workplace, until the NAAIB knows everything about why the accident occured.
- It is against all common sense to commence flying with the Super Puma, when one has not received an answer. In that case, there is not a lot of respect shown with regards to the people who (would) use it daily, says Arne Geir Mehl, organisational secreteray of Industri Energi.
Mehl himself flies often and has had hundreds of helicopter flights to and from the North Sea.
- Do not want to go to work
- I don't like it at all that they are considering to commence flying again. There have been a few incidents in the British sector, and similarly now with the one we had in the Norwegian sector. Personally I don't think I will go to work if I know that it will come back, says Nina Grindheim-Hella, who work as a helideck crewmember in the North Sea.
13 People died in the Turøy accident outside Bergen. The EASA is now putting pressure on Norway, who has chosen to maintain the ban since the safety measures that have been initiated after the accident, are not sufficient.
- It is not OK to be forced into something that you feel is unsafe. We work in the oil business where there is a lot of focus on safety. This sounds strange, says North Sea worker Ole Westhrin.
- Does it frighten you?
- It is not a pleasant feeling, Westhrin says to TV 2.
- We live in Norway, we must be allowed to have our own regulations regarding these things. There is zero confidence in the Super Puma. The North Sea workforce does not want it in Norway, Mehl states, from Industri Energi.
Experts in Norway support ban
TV 2s revelation about the EASA pushing to have the ban lifted in Norway is not well received by Norwegian helicopter safety experts.
- Samarbeidsforum (cooperation forum) supports the Norwegian CAAs handling of this case. We think it is important that we get the NAAIBs conclusion and that Airbus accounts for the resasoning behind allowing continued use of these helicopters, Anders Røsok says, leader of the Samarbeidsforum for helicopter safety on the Norwegian continental shelf.