April 2009 North Sea helicopter crash
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1 April 2009 |
| Summary | Main Rotor Gearbox failure |
| Site | 11 nmi (20 km) northeast of Peterhead, Scotland 57°33′14″N 0°00′00″E / 57.554°N -0.000°ECoordinates: 57°33′14″N 0°00′00″E / 57.554°N -0.000°E |
| Passengers | 14 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 16 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma |
| Operator | Bond Offshore Helicopters |
| Registration | G-REDL |
| Flight origin | Aberdeen Airport |
| Last stopover | Miller oilfield |
| Destination | Aberdeen Airport |
The April 2009 North Sea helicopter crash involved a Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma Mk 2 belonging to Bond Offshore Helicopters, engaged on flight 85N, that crashed 11 nautical miles (20 km) north-east of Peterhead, Scotland just before 2:00 pm on 1 April 2009 in the North Sea while returning from a BP oil platform in the Miller oilfield, 240 km (150 mi) north-east of Peterhead. The crash killed all sixteen people aboard. The cause was main rotor separation following a catastrophic gearbox failure.
The helicopter was flown by Captain Paul Burnham and co-pilot Richard Menzies, both working for Bond Offshore Helicopters. Most of the victims were employees of KCA Deutag Drilling.
Bond also operated a very similar Eurocopter EC225LP helicopter which ditched in the North Sea on 18 February 2009, in which all 18 aboard escaped and were rescued.
The most serious previous North Sea helicopter accident had been the 1986 British International Helicopters Chinook crash, when a Boeing 234 Chinook crashed, killing 45 people.
The search for survivors was called off on the evening of 2 April, rescuers admitting that there was no chance of finding anyone alive, and the Vigilant returned to Peterhead on 4 April. The eight bodies found a few hours after the crash were taken to Aberdeen and then on to a police mortuary.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) chartered the seismic survey vessel Vigilant for its initial investigation, which arrived on site on 3 April, carrying specialised sonar equipment to locate the wreckage on the seabed. The aircraft was thought to be lying in approximately 90 metres of water, but as of 3 April the exact location was not known. No EPIRB beacon signal had been reported.
Grampian Police stated on the evening of 4 April that they had identified the eight bodies that were initially recovered from the surface of the sea. One of the victims, Nolan Goble, was the brother of former professional footballer, Steve Goble. A second vessel, the Diving Support Vessel Bibby Topaz, was chartered to assist the work, and sailed from Peterhead on 4 April, to recover the remaining eight bodies that were not found on the surface, as well as wreckage and the cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
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