Additional checks on offshore helicopters being carried out

Damage was caused as a S92 helicopter was landing

Additional checks are being carried on a North Sea helicopter fleet in the wake of safety fears.

It follows an incident which saw a S92 spin more than 180 degrees on landing.

One-off inspections of the tail rotor on all S92 helicopters around the world took place last week, following the incident on the West Franklin platform in December.

Operators are now being told to increase inspections on the aircraft's tail rotor.

No-one was injured in the incident, but there was significant damage to the deck of the platform.

As a result of the initial safety checks, 11 tail rotor bearings were returned to manufacturer Sikorsky for further tests.

The Federal Aviation Administration has now said further inspections using specialist cameras must be carried out every 10 hours of flying time.

North Sea operators said they were fully complying with the latest directive.

Gouge marks were left after the incident