’Copter crash lessons ‘must be learnt’

Lessons need to be learned in the offshore oil and gas industry in light of the latest fatal helicopter crash, a union has said.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) called for safety improvements as it staged a rally in Aberdeen five days after a Super Puma helicopter came down in the water off the southern tip of Shetland.

The crash, which claimed the lives of three men and one woman, was the fifth incident involving Super Pumas in the North Sea since 2009.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow, who attended the rally, said: “One thing’s for sure, our members shouldn’t pay the ultimate price of losing their life as a result of going to work. We don’t believe that some people have learned (from) what happened in 2009 and what we don’t want is for what happened in 2013 to drift away as well.

“Next week there might be a war in Syria and the Aberdeen issue will be off the media agenda and forgotten. We’ve got to make sure that... the industry learns the lessons.”