Norway Halts Offshore Helicopter Traffic Following Fatal Crash In North Sea

Norway halted helicopter traffic to the offshore oil and gas fields following the fatal crash. It declared that it was also considering the grounding of Sikorsky’s S-92A aircraft model as it was looking into the accident. A woman who was in her 60s lost her life. Five others were severely injured as the helicopter took a plunge into the ocean on Wednesday, off western Norway, while it was on a search-and-rescue training operation, per the police and oil firm officials.

On Thursday, one surviving crew member was in critical condition, and the other was severely injured, while the three remaining suffered relatively lighter injuries, the hospital that was treating them mentioned on X. The Civil Aviation Authority (popularly known as the CAA) of Norway declared that it was considering ordering the grounding of the S-92A, the workhorse of the oil industry of the Nordic country that flies workers from and to oilfields. This is a high priority for us, per the CAA in a statement. It didn’t say when a decision was going to be made.

Oil firms major Equinor, Aker BP, and ConocoPhillips have informed that they have halted helicopter traffic offshore Norway. Equinor, Norway’s largest oil and gas producer, said it would review the scenario by 0900 GMT on Friday, having said earlier that it would be doing so by 1700 GMT on Thursday. The rescue workers from the sea hoisted the six members of the crew. However, one was declared dead in the hospital, the police said.

The key cause of the accident was not known right away. They have sent crash inspectors to Bergen and Stavanger to investigate the accident, per the head of the Safety Investigation Authority, William Bertheussen. The two cities are known to be the busiest zones for the oil and gas industry in Norway, generating almost four million barrels of oil equivalent daily.

Bristow Group, which operated the helicopter, mentioned that it was cooperating with the relevant authorities responding to the incident and that the firm was gathering relevant information. Lockheed Martin, company Sikorsky, which had built the helicopter, mentioned in a statement that safety was the foremost priority and was also prepared to support the ongoing investigation.

Equinor said that the helicopter that had gone down was a search-and-rescue aircraft catering to platforms at the Oseberg oil and gas field in the North Sea. We have confidence in the types of helicopters and the operators, Equinor’s CEO Anders Opedal informed NRK. Yet, Equinor suspended regular helicopter flights to the oil and gas platforms based in Norway. It did so out of consideration for the ones impacted and to get an overall overview of the scenario. Aker BP said that its flights were paused until further notice. They will assess how the incident affects their flight program and operations, it said in a statement.

Reference: Reuters

Norway Halts Offshore Helicopter Traffic Following Fatal Crash In North Sea appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News