A helicopter crash in Norway which killed all 13 people on board was caused by technical failure, investigators have said.
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Italy’s Foreign Ministry says an worldwide tribunal in The Hague has decided that an Italian marine being held in India in the shooting deaths of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates can return home.
PARIS May 2 Airbus Helicopters is no longer recommending a blanket ban on commercial flights to operators of its H225 Super Puma helicopter, saying initial evidence suggested there was no link between Friday’s crash in Norway and two North Sea accidents in 2012.
In an SEC filing released yesterday, offshore operating giant Bristow said it had grounded six of its nine H225 operating in Australia following the crash (the remaining three will continue to operate for search-and-rescue missions).
Bristow Group Inc. on Monday said it would ground some EC225 helicopters in Australia, after regulators in Norway and the United Kingdom barred passenger flights with the model.
Like his distant cousins Prince Andrew and Prince William, he has seen Naval service, serving in the Royal Norwegian Navy on motor torpedo boats rather than helicopters.
Tributes poured in yesterday for oil worker Iain Stuart, who was among those killed when the helicopter went down 74 miles off the Norwegian coast.
“We must always do everything we can so that people can feel safe going to work”, Statoil (STL.OL) Chief Executive Eldar Saetre said after visiting Gullfaks B oil platform, where the 11 workers who died had boarded the helicopter.
It also sparked calls for the aircraft type to be permanently removed from service, with an online petition so far collecting more than 21,000 signatures. Operators CHC said two parts were replaced on the aircraft. An image released by Accident Investigation Board Norway, Sunday May 1, 2016, showing the twisted wreckage of the salvaged helicopter which crashed Friday April 29, west of Bergen, Norway, as it is lifted aboard a rescue ve.
A team from the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is assisting with the investigation.
“Statements from manufacturers and operators will not suffice”.
Aviation expert Per Gram said the pilots probably had no time to react before the helicopter crashed, killing them and the eleven others on board.
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The family Mr Stuart have said they are “heartbroken” by his death. He was a caring son, brother, uncle and friend to many.
