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RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2014 :: RMTnews
5
R
MT renewed call for a full
public inquiry into
helicopter safety as the Fatal
Accident Investigation into the
North Sea helicopter disaster
five years ago that cost 16 lives
opened in Aberdeen last month.
The first day of the FAI
enquiry heard how the Super
Puma helicopter crashed "like a
torpedo", killing 16 men on
April 1 2009.
Normand Aurora crewman
Lidvar Olav Hildre said that he
heard the helicopter fly over his
ship followed by a sudden
silence and the rotor blades
came down several seconds after
the fuselage.
The ship then launched a fast
rescue boat immediately to the
scene.
RMT general secretary Bob
Crow said that while the Fatal
Accident Investigation had a
role to play it could not enforce
justice or hold anyone to
account and was no alternative
to the full public inquiry into
helicopter safety that RMT has
been calling for with the
support of the TUC.
“We hope that the FAI can
answer some of the many
questions that the relatives,
friends and work colleagues of
those who lost their lives have
been asking. That is why the
union is supporting the families
at the investigation today.
“The FAI process has been
proven to be far too slow and
since the 2009 disaster that is
under investigation there have
been three further incidents, one
of them fatal, and the families
and colleagues of all those
whose lives have been impacted
by the helicopter safety issue
have waited far too long for
justice.
“Unfortunately, the FAI
cannot deliver that justice and
once again we call on the First
Minister Alex Salmond to throw
his weight behind the trade
union campaign for a full public
inquiry into the whole subject
of helicopter safety and the
broader issue of working
conditions in the offshore
industry,” he said.
The inquiry, which is being
held in Aberdeen Town House,
is expected to last six weeks.
An Air Accidents
Investigation Branch report
blamed a catastrophic gear box
failure for the crash, which
happened 12 miles off
Peterhead.
A police investigation ended
with the Crown Office deciding
there was insufficient evidence
for any prosecutions.
UNION DEMANDS NORTH
SEA HELICOPTER ENQUIRY