Emergency alert sparked over potential Super Puma fault

AIR SAFETY bosses have issued an emergency alert over a potential fault in a fleet of Super Puma helicopters after one ditched in the North Sea earlier this month.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) has ordered stricter safety inspections of the EC225 helicopters amid fears over a gear shaft in its main rotor drive.

The report comes after the Bond aircraft was forced to make a controlled landing off the coast of Aberdeen, sparking a major rescue operation to recover its two crew and 12 passengers.

The incident on May 10 came after the pilots saw an oil pressure warning light come on.

Investigations later revealed a gearbox shaft had cracked and Bond suspended all flights of the EC225 while rigorous checks of the fleet, manufactured by Eurocopter, were carried out. An airworthiness report has now stated that there could be a “manufacturing defect” in the aircraft’s bevel gear shaft.

It said: “The preliminary findings of the investigation have shown a full circumferential crack of the lower vertical shaft of the main gearbox bevel gear. As a result, the vertical shaft ceased to drive the main and backup oil pumps.

“The vertical shaft failed after a low number of accumulated flight hours and although the investigation is still in progress, at this early stage a manufacturing defect of the part must be considered.”

A Bond spokesman said the firm had immediately implemented the findings of the Easa Airworthiness Directive (EAD).

He said: “The EAD applies to certain batches of a main gearbox part in the EC225, and requires regular monitoring of flight data and reporting to manufacturer Eurocopter.”