Global InformationBond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85N information
 The incident Super Puma Mk2 (2004) | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| 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°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma |
| Operator | Bond Offshore Helicopters |
| Registration | G-REDL |
| Flight origin | Aberdeen Airport |
| Last stopover | Miller oilfield |
| Destination | Aberdeen Airport |
| Passengers | 14 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 16[1] |
| Survivors | 0 |
Just before 2:00 pm on 1 April 2009, Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85N crashed 11 nautical miles (20 km) north-east of Peterhead, Scotland in the North Sea while returning from a BP oil platform in the Miller oilfield, 240 km (150 mi) north-east of Peterhead.[2] The crash killed all sixteen people aboard.[3][4][5][6] The flight was operated using a Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma Mk 2 belonging to Bond Offshore Helicopters. The cause of the crash 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.[7] 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 were rescued.[3][8]
The most serious North Sea helicopter accident was the 1986 British International Helicopters Chinook crash, when a Boeing 234 Chinook crashed, killing 45 people.[9][10]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Scotsman06awas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McConville, Beth (1 April 2009). "Helicopter with 16 people down in North Sea". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ a b "Eight dead as helicopter crashes". BBC News. 1 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ "16 feared dead in helicopter crash". The Press Association. 1 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ "A "Super Puma" helicopter ditched in the North Sea". World Aeronautical Press Agency. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ Carrell, Severin (1 April 2009). "North Sea helicopter crash: all 16 people on board feared dead". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ "Helicopter crash probe continues". BBC News. 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- ^ "Rescue in the North Sea". BBC News. 19 February 2009. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ "Fatal helicopter crash occurred only six weeks after similar incident". STV. 1 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ "AAIB Bulletin S3/2009 G-REDU". Air Accidents Investigation Branch. March 2009. Archived from the original on 5 April 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2009.