North Sea Super Puma helicopter crash survivors win millions in compensation

By Press Association

May 25 2016, 11:41am

The Super Puma helicopter plunged into the North Sea killing four oil workers off the coast of Shetland.

Survivors of a North Sea helicopter crash which killed four people have won millions in compensation.

The Super Puma helicopter plunged into the sea off Shetland in August 2013.

Oil workers Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland in County Durham, George Allison, 57, from Winchester, Hampshire, Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Moray, and Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, died.

Both pilots and 12 remaining passengers escaped and now nine of the survivors have won compensation understood to be between £2.5 million and £3 million.

Lisa Gregory, head solicitor at the Aberdeen office of law firm Digby Brown, which represented the claimants, said: “Our clients were a group of people who were just going to work when their lives were changed in some of the worst ways imaginable.

“The cases were about providing them with access to legal recourse and fair compensation. All of those involved in the incident will have to live with its effects and repercussions for the rest of their lives. The most important outcome is that the settlements will hopefully allow those affected by the events of that night and their families to move on with dignity.”

Undated handout photos issued by Police Scotland of (left to right) Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, George Allison, 57, from Winchester, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness and and Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, the bodies of three of the four oil workers who died when a helicopter plunged into the North Sea have been brought back to the mainland. A passenger ferry carrying the bodies arrived at Aberdeen Harbour at 7am this morning. It is understood that the fourth body will arrive tomorrow. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday August 26, 2013. The Super Puma was carrying 16 passengers and two crew from the Borgsten Dolphin platform when it crashed into the sea off Shetland on Friday evening, killing three men and one woman. It is not yet known what caused the CHC-operated helicopter to crash into the sea as it approached Sumburgh airport on the southern tip of the main island. Rescuers recovered three bodies in the aftermath of the incident and the fourth was removed from the wreckage yesterday. See PA story SEA Helicopter. Photo credit should read: Police Scotland/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — From left: Duncan Munro, George Allison, Gary McCrossan, and Sarah Darnley died after the helicopter plunged into the North Sea.

Investigators found pilots failed to properly monitor the flight instruments on approaching Sumburgh Airport on Shetland.

A final report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) issued in March found no mechanical fault with the helicopter, which was returning from the Borgsten Dolphin support vessel to Sumburgh.

File photo dated 25/08/13 of wreckage of the Super Puma L2 helicopter which went down in the North Sea with the loss of four lives , around two miles west of Sumburgh airport on Shetland as it was returning to the island from the Borgsten Dolphin platform, as an investigation into the crash has so far found no evidence of technical failure. — The Super Puma L2 helicopter was returning to Shetland from the Borgsten Dolphin platform at the time of the incident.

The investigators made several recommendations, including a requirement for pilots who are licensed to fly through bad weather to receive regular training on how to read the flight instruments which are specific to the type of helicopter being operated.

They called for helicopters, which already must have cockpit voice recorders, to be fitted with devices to capture images.

The AAIB also recommended that large helicopters certified for offshore operation should only have cabin seating layouts, which would mean that in an emergency each exit would need to be used by no more than two passengers.