A ban on all flights of Airbus Helicopters’ Super Puma EC225LP and AS332L2 remains in place in Norway and UK despite a lift of the temporary suspension by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
To remind, the EASA informed on Friday it was lifting the temporary ban on the Super Puma EC225 LP and AS332 L2 helicopters that had been put in place after a fatal accident of an EC225 LP helicopter in Norway on April 29, 2016. The CHC-operated Super Puma crashed near Bergen while returning to land from a Statoil offshore platform.
Despite EASA’s decision to allow the return to service of Airbus Helicopters’ Super Puma EC225LP and AS332L2, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Friday confirmed that its existing restriction, prohibiting all commercial flying of this type by UK operators, is to remain in place.
The Super Puma helicopter accident in Norway on April 29 is still under investigation by the Norwegian authorities and the UK CAA said it remains in close contact with all offshore helicopter operators to continue to assess the situation.
The UK CAA was joined by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority that also said the flight ban stays until further notice.
“We are united in our approach with the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority. Both agencies now await further information from the accident investigation before considering any future action,” UK CAA added.
Airbus Helicopters took note of EASA’s decision to lift the temporary suspension it had put in place in June and said the company is providing assistance to its customers to help them return their aircraft to service at the appropriate time.
Offshore Energy Today Staff