Union Balks at Bringing Super Pumas Back to North Sea

Calls it an 'insult' to the memory of 33 killed

The possibility of reinstating the Airbus Helicopters Super Puma for offshore energy transport in the North Sea is facing labor union opposition in the wake of the helicopter's spotty safety record.

By Mark Huber • Contributor

February 23, 2024

RMT, the UK’s National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers, went on record this week in opposition to the potential reintroduction of the Airbus Helicopters Super Puma to service the offshore energy market in the North Sea. Operators withdrew the aircraft from that market after 33 offshore workers were killed as the result of a series of Super Puma accidents in the region between 2009 and 2016, several of them tied to flaws in the main gearbox (MGB).

Airbus subsequently redesigned the MGB and made other improvements to the model, including increased payload and offering an automatic rig approach mode to its avionics package. Earlier this week, a senior Airbus Helicopters executive told AIN that the company planned to continue producing the Super Puma into the 2040s and that the improved helicopter was ideally suited to serve the deep water offshore market. Speculation that the Super Puma would return to North Sea duty is being fueled by concerns about aging Sikorsky S-92s currently serving there.

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