Lessons need to be learned in the offshore oil and gas industry in light of the latest fatal helicopter crash, a union has said.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) called for safety improvements as it staged a rally in Aberdeen five days after a Super Puma helicopter came down in the water off the southern tip of Shetland.
The crash, which claimed the lives of three men and a woman on Friday, was the fifth incident involving Super Pumas in the North Sea since 2009.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow attended the rally outside the union’s office on Crown Street.
“One thing’s for sure, our members shouldn’t pay the ultimate price of losing their life as a result of going to work,” he said ahead of the gathering.
He said while the investigation was still ongoing there was no way of knowing what caused the crash.
He said: “We’ve got to make sure that we learn from those investigations.
“We don’t believe that some people have learned (from) what happened in 2009 and what we don’t want is for what happened in 2013 to drift away as well.
“Next week there might be a war in Syria and the Aberdeen issue will be off the media agenda and forgotten. We’ve got to make sure that… the industry learns the lessons.”
The RMT had planned to protest near the heliport of CHC, the operator of the Super Puma which crashed last week.
It was called off in favour of a city centre rally after the union said Oil and Gas UK had met its demand for guaranteed access to workers on platforms and at heliports.
Mr Crow said he had been assured by the Oil and Gas UK chairman that, as soon as there is an opportunity, their officials will be allowed such access after years of being “denied”.
Unite also voiced safety concerns, with the union saying Super Puma helicopter flights should remain suspended until the cause of the latest crash is identified. It said workforce confidence in the aircraft type has been “shattered” after last week’s crash and argued that workers refusing to fly must be supported by their employers.
There were 16 passengers and two crew on the Super Puma AS332 L2 travelling from the Borgsten Dolphin support vessel when it plunged into the sea last week.
The victims have been identified as Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham; George Allison, 57, from Winchester, Hampshire; Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Moray; and 59-year-old Gary McCrossan, from Inverness.
Investigators have been searching for the helicopter’s black box data recorder, which it is hoped will shed light on the cause of the fatal crash.