Sumburgh Super Puma crash: Inquiry to start remotely in August

Four people died in the 2013 crash

A fatal accident inquiry into a helicopter crash that killed four people off Shetland is to start remotely at the end of August.

A total of 18 people were on board when the Super Puma crashed in 2013.

Passengers Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, died.

A FAI, scheduled for May, was earlier delayed due to coronavirus measures.

• Super Puma FAI adjourned due to coronavirus

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• Pilots criticised over helicopter crash

Derek Pyle, Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands, told a remote preliminary hearing that holding the inquiry in a virtual manner had not been an easy decision to reach.

However, he said he hoped it could be done in a satisfactory manner.

It is thought the hearing could last up to four weeks.

Martin Richardson, for the Crown, said preparations has been disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis, but that he was confident work could be completed ahead of a virtual hearing in September.

Seven-year wait

Sheriff Principal Pyle said it could begin on Monday 31 August, be finished towards the end of September, and his decision could be within a month at the end of October.

He said that the seven-year wait for the inquiry since the crash happened meant it should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Alan Rodgers, acting for relatives of those involved in the crash, expressed "dismay" on their behalf that there would not be a traditional inquiry in court.

There is a memorial to the crash victims in Shetland

In 2016, a report said flight instruments were "not monitored effectively" by the pilots in the moments leading up to the crash.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said a lack of monitoring meant a reduction in air speed was not noticed by the pilots.

Attempts to recover control of the aircraft were too late, they said.

The report also said the impact with the water had been "survivable".

It said one of the four victims had been unable to escape, one was incapacitated by a head injury, one drowned before reaching the surface, and the other died in the life raft from a chronic heart condition.