Sikorsky S-76 down in the North Sea (Threads merged)
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Very sad news to me, especially as one flying this type of aircraft for a living.My thoughts go to all those involved, families, friends, all at Bristows.
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Update from BBC reports
Five people have now been confirmed dead and a massive SAR operation is continuing for a further six who had been on board.
The S76 was on a routine trip from Norwich airport to rigs in the North Sea. It left Norwich at 1900 BST on Tuesday with nine workers and two crew on board, flew to the Clipper platform, and then continued to the Santa Fe Monarch drilling rig.
It was on this leg of the journey that the helicopter crashed, two miles from the rig.
Staff on the Santa Fe Monarch rig made the call to the coastguard saying the helicopter had gone down.
An RAF Sea King from Wattisham in Suffolk was scrambled and five bodies were recovered from the water within two hours. The Sea King was stood down in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the search was continued by coastguards and rig support vessels and lifeboats that had been in the area. They are concentrating on a five-mile radius of sea close to the rig although no wreckage from the helicopter has been spotted.
The Duty Rescue Controller at RAF Kinloss where the operation was co-ordinated, said the search continued on Wednesday under "near perfect conditions". He said: "We still have not found survivors and we fear that this points to a worst case scenario."
The two crew on board worked for Bristow, three of the passengers were Shell staff, three worked for engineering firm Amec and two for Amec subcontractors. The remaining passenger was from Oil Field Medical Services.
The S76 was on a routine trip from Norwich airport to rigs in the North Sea. It left Norwich at 1900 BST on Tuesday with nine workers and two crew on board, flew to the Clipper platform, and then continued to the Santa Fe Monarch drilling rig.
It was on this leg of the journey that the helicopter crashed, two miles from the rig.
Staff on the Santa Fe Monarch rig made the call to the coastguard saying the helicopter had gone down.
An RAF Sea King from Wattisham in Suffolk was scrambled and five bodies were recovered from the water within two hours. The Sea King was stood down in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the search was continued by coastguards and rig support vessels and lifeboats that had been in the area. They are concentrating on a five-mile radius of sea close to the rig although no wreckage from the helicopter has been spotted.
The Duty Rescue Controller at RAF Kinloss where the operation was co-ordinated, said the search continued on Wednesday under "near perfect conditions". He said: "We still have not found survivors and we fear that this points to a worst case scenario."
The two crew on board worked for Bristow, three of the passengers were Shell staff, three worked for engineering firm Amec and two for Amec subcontractors. The remaining passenger was from Oil Field Medical Services.
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FlyingDJ
Let's get this in proportion.
Bristow has temporarily suspended all their helicopter flights to and from the rigs in the southern North Sea.
The Sikorsky S76 has an excellent safety record.
Let's get this in proportion.
Bristow has temporarily suspended all their helicopter flights to and from the rigs in the southern North Sea.
The Sikorsky S76 has an excellent safety record.
Last edited by Heliport; 17th Jul 2002 at 10:23.
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I've been asked to post a photograph of an S-76 for the benefit of Ppruners who are not familiar with various helicopter types.
The photograph is of an Offshore/Utility model.
In its more familiar 'executive' version, the Sikorsky S-76 is generally regarded as the 'Rolls Royce' of the corporate helicopter world. It is used, for example, by the UK Royal Flight.
Heliport
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The photograph is of an Offshore/Utility model.
In its more familiar 'executive' version, the Sikorsky S-76 is generally regarded as the 'Rolls Royce' of the corporate helicopter world. It is used, for example, by the UK Royal Flight.
Heliport
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Last edited by Heliport; 17th Jul 2002 at 11:12.
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What a terrible loss, this has hit hard. There's no point ranting at the papers, they will always speculate to accumulate, regardless of the effect it has on anything other than pennies for papers. My deepest sympathies to the crew and passengers loved ones.
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I know I speak for all my collegues downunder..........
This accident is not only tragic for the individuals affected, including all the loved ones and families, but for all involved in the Offshore and Helicopter Industry.
The S76 is indeed a mature and proven helicopter platform for such a demanding industry, and I am sure the authorities and company involved will establish the relevant causes in the fullness of time.
A sad day indeed for all.
This accident is not only tragic for the individuals affected, including all the loved ones and families, but for all involved in the Offshore and Helicopter Industry.
The S76 is indeed a mature and proven helicopter platform for such a demanding industry, and I am sure the authorities and company involved will establish the relevant causes in the fullness of time.
A sad day indeed for all.
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Comments below from RAF Sea King crew who arrived on scene shortly after accident. I appreciate there are those who think it crass to question the causes of such a tragedy without waiting months for the AAIB findings, however, I think it is only natural that we seek to discover answers and information from the professionals who share this forum. I also have to say I do not believe to call such an incident a "crash" is itself an exaggeration when by then we had five confirmed dead and many missing.
Just a personal point, but one thankfully this forum allows me to make.
Flight Lieutenant Paul Hopson - the pilot of the Sea King Mark 3A scrambled to
search for survivors - said today: "At this stage we cannot say what happened
but all the indications are of a major mechanical failure.
"As far as we were aware, there was no May Day call and certainly no
emergency beacons were activated, which suggest it happened very quickly."
Co-pilot Flight Lieutenant Steve Murkin said it was unlikely to have been a
controlled ditching and the crew would have had little time to escape.
He said: "As more and more information came, it looked like it must have been
something quite catastrophic. It was not a controlled ditching as we had hoped.
"It must have been something major because it sank quite quickly and nobody
got out.
"If it is a controlled ditching, as soon as the helicopter hits the water,
big flotation bags are inflated but there were none visible, so we do not know
if they were activated."
He added that the crew, including passengers, would have had survival and
escape training and would have been wearing specialist gear, enabling them to
survive in the water for hours.
In ordinary clothes, a person would be dead within an hour, he said.
The helicopter was scrambled at 7.50pm from Wattisham Airfield and arrived at
the crash scene, some 30 miles north east of Great Yarmouth, at about 8.30pm
yesterday.
On arrival, the crew saw a patch of oil and small debris covering an area just
200 yards across.
Boats which had arrived within seven minutes had already recovered five bodies
out of the 11 people on board.
Flt Lt Murkins said the visibility was good and the water was calm so if there
had been any survivors they would have been spotted easily.
"It was perfect conditions for searching. We could see everything on the
surface and it was quite evident there was nobody on the surface to rescue. The
biggest thing we saw was a seat cushion.
"Because there is always an outside chance of survivors, you keep looking.
But within an hour it was pretty clear we were not looking for survivors in this
case anyway.
"Given the speed at which the rescue agencies were on the scene, it is likely
some of the bodies will be found in the wreckage."
Following an intensive search along with 18 boats, the helicopter crew left
just before midnight.
An investigation will be carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Board,
part of the Civil Aviation Authority, said Flt Lt Hopson.
The wreckage will probably be recovered by specialist salvage units and form
part of the investigation to find out exactly what happened, he said.
Just a personal point, but one thankfully this forum allows me to make.
Flight Lieutenant Paul Hopson - the pilot of the Sea King Mark 3A scrambled to
search for survivors - said today: "At this stage we cannot say what happened
but all the indications are of a major mechanical failure.
"As far as we were aware, there was no May Day call and certainly no
emergency beacons were activated, which suggest it happened very quickly."
Co-pilot Flight Lieutenant Steve Murkin said it was unlikely to have been a
controlled ditching and the crew would have had little time to escape.
He said: "As more and more information came, it looked like it must have been
something quite catastrophic. It was not a controlled ditching as we had hoped.
"It must have been something major because it sank quite quickly and nobody
got out.
"If it is a controlled ditching, as soon as the helicopter hits the water,
big flotation bags are inflated but there were none visible, so we do not know
if they were activated."
He added that the crew, including passengers, would have had survival and
escape training and would have been wearing specialist gear, enabling them to
survive in the water for hours.
In ordinary clothes, a person would be dead within an hour, he said.
The helicopter was scrambled at 7.50pm from Wattisham Airfield and arrived at
the crash scene, some 30 miles north east of Great Yarmouth, at about 8.30pm
yesterday.
On arrival, the crew saw a patch of oil and small debris covering an area just
200 yards across.
Boats which had arrived within seven minutes had already recovered five bodies
out of the 11 people on board.
Flt Lt Murkins said the visibility was good and the water was calm so if there
had been any survivors they would have been spotted easily.
"It was perfect conditions for searching. We could see everything on the
surface and it was quite evident there was nobody on the surface to rescue. The
biggest thing we saw was a seat cushion.
"Because there is always an outside chance of survivors, you keep looking.
But within an hour it was pretty clear we were not looking for survivors in this
case anyway.
"Given the speed at which the rescue agencies were on the scene, it is likely
some of the bodies will be found in the wreckage."
Following an intensive search along with 18 boats, the helicopter crew left
just before midnight.
An investigation will be carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Board,
part of the Civil Aviation Authority, said Flt Lt Hopson.
The wreckage will probably be recovered by specialist salvage units and form
part of the investigation to find out exactly what happened, he said.
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Witnesses on the rigs state there was an explosion seen prior to the a/c ditching.
These workers have just arrived at NWI so will no doubt be questioned by th AAIB.
God bless those who lost their lives and god bless their families.
These workers have just arrived at NWI so will no doubt be questioned by th AAIB.
God bless those who lost their lives and god bless their families.
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I've been asked for guidance whether it would be appropriate to make comments concerning Bristow engineering on this thread. I've suggested it would be inappropriate and any such comments should be made on a different thread - subject to the usual rules.
Rotorheads is essentially a professional forum for the helicopter industry worldwide. With so many of our members flying the S-76 and/or having experience operating in the North Sea, it is inevitable that there will be informed comments as more information becomes available. I see no problem with that.
Unless I receive any messages of disagreement with either of these two suggestions, I'll assume they reflect what members wish. It's your forum.
Heliport
Moderator
Rotorheads is essentially a professional forum for the helicopter industry worldwide. With so many of our members flying the S-76 and/or having experience operating in the North Sea, it is inevitable that there will be informed comments as more information becomes available. I see no problem with that.
Unless I receive any messages of disagreement with either of these two suggestions, I'll assume they reflect what members wish. It's your forum.
Heliport
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Part of the story from The Independent this morning:
A specialist salvage vessel carrying divers and remote-controlled submarines will start work today at the scene of Tuesday night's tragedy to search for the bodies of six victims believed to have remained trapped in the Sikorsky S-76, sitting in 30 metres of water about 45 miles off the Norfolk coast.
Clive Mather, chairman of Shell UK, said the firm had suspended all flying operations in the southern North Sea until the cause of the tragedy was pinpointed.
One of the victims was named as Angus MacAthur, 38, of the Isle of Lewis, Ross-shire. He left behind a wife and two young sons. Norfolk police said the names of the remaining dead would not be released until tomorrow. They include six men from Norfolk, two from Teesside and one each from Lancashire and Suffolk.
My thoughts and prayers for those affected by this accident.
A specialist salvage vessel carrying divers and remote-controlled submarines will start work today at the scene of Tuesday night's tragedy to search for the bodies of six victims believed to have remained trapped in the Sikorsky S-76, sitting in 30 metres of water about 45 miles off the Norfolk coast.
Clive Mather, chairman of Shell UK, said the firm had suspended all flying operations in the southern North Sea until the cause of the tragedy was pinpointed.
One of the victims was named as Angus MacAthur, 38, of the Isle of Lewis, Ross-shire. He left behind a wife and two young sons. Norfolk police said the names of the remaining dead would not be released until tomorrow. They include six men from Norfolk, two from Teesside and one each from Lancashire and Suffolk.
My thoughts and prayers for those affected by this accident.
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An awful tragedy. May they rest in peace. It always hits home when fellow pilots in our small sector lose their lives at work.
The rentamouth 'experts' wheeled out on when ever there's a fatal crash are a pain. But as its highly likley there was a catastrophic mechanical failure of some sort and the 76 is a well-proven type with a good safety record, the "mystified by why it was not predicted by standard maintenance checks" Rotorbike quotes does seem like a fair question to ask.
The rentamouth 'experts' wheeled out on when ever there's a fatal crash are a pain. But as its highly likley there was a catastrophic mechanical failure of some sort and the 76 is a well-proven type with a good safety record, the "mystified by why it was not predicted by standard maintenance checks" Rotorbike quotes does seem like a fair question to ask.
In further response to the above - Weather conditions were excellent. I beautiful clear evening with a flat calm sea and very light winds. I think we can pretty much rule out weather as a factor although it would be pointless to speculate beyond that.
Had contact with Bristow this morning....names of crew not to be released publically yet pending completion of recovery operations. We continue to wait to hear who the crew was.