Resurrection of the Super Puma | Aviation International News

Resurrection of the Super Puma

Airbus H225 helicopters have found new life and missions in the wake of the 2016 offshore accident.

The Super Puma's missions—other than ferrying people—include freight, external load carrying, and aerial firefighting.

By Mark Huber • Contributor

May 2, 2022

It started with the stuff of nightmares and ended like the story of Lazarus—back from the dead.

On April 26, 2016, the main rotor separated from an Airbus Helicopters EC225LP (LN-OJF) that was cruising at 2,000 feet and 140 knots near Turoy, Norway, while transporting offshore oil workers. All 13 aboard were killed. In the wake of the accident, the worldwide Super Puma fleet was grounded, a large portion of it for more than a year. Offshore unions moved quickly to demonize the machine, refusing to fly on it. One of them—Unite—threatened to strike if the helicopter continued to be operated on passenger flights in the North Sea and vowed to keep the area “Super Puma-free.” A petition circulated by North Sea oil workers and their families to ban the Super Puma outright garnered more than 27,000 signatures. A 2017 survey conducted by Airbus about the aircraft found that 62 percent of respondents would not fly on it.

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