Shetland Super Puma crash: Pilot 'will never fly again' due to the trauma

Four people lost their lives in the crash in 2013

The pilot of a helicopter which crashed off Shetland leaving four people dead will "never fly again" due to the trauma, an inquiry has heard.

Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, drowned after the crash.

Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, got on to a life raft but died from heart failure.

Pilot Martin Miglans said in a statement his "world ended".

The four passengers were among 18 people who were on board the Super Puma when it crashed in 2013.

The first day of the inquiry also heard that the helicopter's pilots did not notice their reducing airspeed until it was too late.

An affidavit from pilot Mr Miglans was read out.

'Shock and horror'

He said he remembered coming out of cloud and seeing water. He said: "Everything was wrong, it was all lost by then".

Mr Miglans said: "That is my nightmare to this day. I remember the shock and horror of seeing the sea."

He added: "I will never fly again."

He said he had been "destroyed" by the crash and has been told he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "I do not want sympathy," he added.

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In an interview recorded several days after the crash that was shown to the inquiry, he said he remembered thinking "I am going to die, I am going to drown".

However, he managed to get out and get to the surface.

"You do the training but it's not a movie," he said. "When it's real it's shocking to the core."

A joint minute of agreement at the start of the inquiry set out the sequence of events and loss of life.

It said the helicopter had been descending into Sumburgh, but with speed reducing.

When an alert sounded at 300ft the commander attempted recovery action but it was "highly likely unrecoverable", and the helicopter hit the water.

Offshore steward Sarah Darnley and safety consultant George Allison were found in the water among debris.

Submerged fuselage

Post-mortem examinations revealed their causes of death as drowning.

Production operative Duncan Munro, who also drowned, was found in the submerged fuselage still harnessed to his seat.

Welder Gary McCrossan managed to escape to a life raft, but was then seen to suffer chest pains.

Resuscitation efforts were made and he was winched on to a helicopter to be taken ashore, but could not be saved.

Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle is presiding over the inquiry

A post-mortem examination showed he had been suffering from heart disease, and that the cause of death had been cardiac enlargement.

It was thought the stress caused by the crash would have acted as a trigger to the fatal cardiac event.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) expert Philip Sleight, deputy chief inspector of air accidents, was the first witness.

He said: "The decreasing airspeed went unnoticed by the pilots until a very late stage, when the helicopter was in a critically low energy state.

"The commander's attempt to recover the situation were unsuccessful and the helicopter struck the surface of the sea.

"It rapidly filled with water and rolled inverted, but was kept afloat by the flotation bags which had deployed."

No helicopter fault

The investigation found the helicopter's flight instruments were "not monitored effectively" during the latter stages of the approach.

This allowed the helicopter to enter a critically low energy state, from which recovery was "not possible".

There was no evidence found of fault with the helicopter that caused or contributed to the crash.

The inquiry was previously delayed due to coronavirus measures.

Derek Pyle, Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands, told the opening of the FAI that the inquiry was of added importance because it was the first virtual fact-finding hearing of such a size and scope in Scotland, and perhaps the UK.

Surviving passengers are among those expected to give also evidence.

The inquiry continues on Tuesday.