Crew safely evacuated as North Sea helicopter forced down

Oct. 23, 2012
A helicopter serving the West Phoenix semisubmersible drilling rig has ditched safely in the UK North Sea.

Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UK – A helicopter serving the West Phoenix semisubmersible drilling rig has ditched safely in the UK North Sea.

The pilot of the EC225 Super Puma aircraft, owned by Bristow Helicopters but operated by another company, performed a controlled ditching at a location south of the Shetland Islands.

Bristow confirms that all 19 passengers and crew were recovered safely.

Investigations into the incident are under way, and Bristow has decided to delay further operations with its EC225 and AS332L2 Super Puma fleet until more details come to light.

10/23/2012