New inquiry into helicopter safety

The House of Commons Select Transport Committee has announced that it is to hold an inquiry into helicopter safety.

The announcement follows the crash of a Super Puma helicopter into the sea off the Shetland Islands in August, in which four people were killed, and other recent incidents involving helicopters carrying oil and gas industry personnel to and from offshore installations in the North Sea.

“Any fatal accident is a cause for concern but there have been five helicopter accidents involving personnel from the oil and gas industry in the last four years, two of which caused multiple fatalities,” commented Committee Chair Louise Ellman MP.

“We have heard worrying evidence that the workforce has lost confidence in the helicopters which they have no choice but to use. We want to look at what has gone wrong and whether the Government can do more to improve safety and protect the lives of offshore workers”.

More detailed terms of reference for the review are to be published later this year.

Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v1.0.

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