Poignant service recalls Chinook crash victims
Thirty years on from tragedy that claimed 45 lives
OIL workers who died in the world’ s worst civilian helicopter crash have been remembered at a special service – 30 years on from the tragedy.
A total of 45 people – 43 passengers and two crew – lost their lives when a Chinook helicopter crashed while approaching Sumburgh Airport in Shetland on November 6, 1986.
Their deaths were marked yesterday at an annual service of commemoration for all those killed while working offshore.
The service, held in Aberdeen’s Kirk of St Nicholas, included an act of remembrance where the names of those lost were read out.
This was followed by a piper’s lament and a minute’s silence.
Rev Pauline Nixon, who lost her
There will still be times when the loss is felt deeply
husband Neville in the disaster, offered a reflection, while Josh Watson, five, whose grandfather was killed, lit a candle.
Among others remembered was Iain Stuart, 41, who died in a crash off the coast of Norway in April of this year.
Rev Gordon Craig, chaplain to the oil and gas industry, said: “It is really important for families to realise their loved ones are still being remembered and respected by the industry.
“The service is an opportunity to commemorate all those no longer with us.
“Thir ty years on from the Chinook crash may seem like a long time but the memories are still vivid for those who lost their loved ones suddenly and tragically.
“The pain may be more manageable but there will still be times when the loss is felt deeply.”
The Chinook was carrying the workers from Shell’s Brent Field platform to Sumburgh Airport when it suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure.
Investigators later discovered the helicopter’s twin rotors collided, plunging the aircraft into the sea.
Just two people survived the accident – passenger Eric Morrans and pilot Pushp Vaid.
Gordon Mitchell, 79, was the pilot of the Shetland Coastguard helicopter team that plucked the two men from the sea.
He said: “My memories of the crash are still vivid. You don’t forget something like that.”
Dave Ellis, 62, who was winchman on the coastguard helicopter, said he remembers it “like it was yesterday”.
He said: “The pilot was in a bad way. Eric was a lot better, but there was a lot of shock.
“We were trying to say to them: ‘Everything is alright, you’re OK’.
“The two survivors are still alive. I still have the bottle of whisky given to me by Eric Morrans.
“And his mum still sends me a Christmas card.”
In his book, The Loonliness of a Deep Sea Diver, David Harrison Beckett, 69, described the harrowing experience he and his crew of divers had when they were called to recover the bodies of those who died.
Mr Beckett said he found the only way to deal with what he was seeing was to detach himself “emotionally”.
He wrote: “My aim was first and f o re m o st to recover those bodies and do so in a manner which was fast, out of the public eye and in the most dignified way possible with the limited resources we had.”
Pilot Neville Nixon was only 44 when he lost his life in the crash.
His wife, Pauline, said: “Neville was just lovely. He was a gentleman – he was called ‘ low- level Neville’. He was a very Christian man and a wonderful husband and father. He was my soul mate.”
Mary McMillan, 69, from Aberdeen lost husband John, 38, in the crash. She said: “It still affects you when the date of the disaster comes
round.”
My memories are still vivid – you don’t forget something like that