The helicopter crash in western Norway that killed 13 people, including a Scot, was caused by a technical fault and not human error, crash investigators have revealed.
Norwegian authorities said that data retrieved from flight recorders confirmed the accident was caused by a mechanical problem with the Super Puma helicopter, which developed quickly, and not a mistake by the crew.
Speaking as the wreckage of the aircraft was taken to a naval base for analysis, Kare Halvorsen, of Norway’s Accident Investigation Board, said that the incident appeared to have happened in less than a second after one of the aircraft’s rotor blades detached.
“As most people probably know, the rotor disk left the helicopter before the helicopter itself ended up in the ocean,” he said.
“Based on the facts we have . . . we know that this is a technical accident. It’s not an accident caused by human error on board the helicopter.
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“We know that the accident developed very, very fast from a normal situation to the accident being a fact.”
He added: “We are as certain as we can be that a technical error caused the accident.”
The Super Puma crashed while carrying two crew and eleven passengers from the North Sea Gullfaks B oilfield, 75 miles off the Norwegian coast, on Friday.
Among the dead was Iain Stuart, 41, from Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, who worked for Halliburton, the oilfield services company. He has been described by his “heartbroken” family as “a loving husband and devoted father to his two children”.
It has emerged that the helicopter had to return to base twice in the days before the tragedy after a warning light was triggered, and that the pilot made no mayday call before the aircraft went down.
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As investigators revealed their latest findings yesterday, the UK government faced renewed calls for a public inquiry into helicopter safety from unions.
The tragedy has become the latest in a series of accidents in the North Sea. Sixteen people were killed in April 2009 when the same type of helicopter suffered a catastrophic gear box failure and crashed off Peterhead.
Families of the victims of that accident are among thousands who signed a petition this week calling for the helicopters to be permanently grounded.
After another Super Puma crashed off Sumburgh, in Shetland, in August 2013, killing four people, unions demanded a public inquiry, but a parliamentary committee at the time said it had “not seen any evidence” to suggest safety was being compromised. The call was also rejected by the industry body Oil & Gas UK at that time.
However, Tommy Campbell, the Unite union’s regional officer, said yesterday that it was “now more important than ever” for an inquiry into all fatal helicopter accidents, and urged the government to act quickly.
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“We should not have to wait until something happens or there is a fatal accident like that in Norway,” he said.