Shetland Super Puma crash: Crew 'would have failed training exam'

The Super Puma crashed in 2013

The crew of a helicopter which crashed with the loss of four lives would have failed a training exam with the same manner of flying, an inquiry has heard.

Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, died in 2013 off Shetland.

Aviation consultant Mark Prior said the speed was too low on the approach.

He told the inquiry they also did not scan their instruments effectively.

On the 10th day of the FAI, Mr Prior was asked what what would have happened if the manner of their approach had been replicated in examination tests.

"They would certainly have failed the test", he said.

"They would perhaps have been put through some more training and a second test before they were allowed to go back to full flying."

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The helicopter hit the sea on its approach to Sumburgh and overturned, but did not sink as flotation devices were armed just in time.

The crew was not using full automation functions and their speed had dropped.

Break chain of events

Mr Prior - who himself has flown the approach into Sumburgh - said the crew were not compliant with the operations manual, and the approach did not meet a standard of reasonable care.

He said: "They did not achieve a stable approach, and that then left them more prone to any errors in scanning (instruments).

"In my opinion the crew were not scanning the air speed and indeed the other instruments for a period of time."

The helicopter would not have crashed if the pilot had stabilised the speed at 80 knots on approach to the airport, he said.

"If they had flown at 80 knots that would have allowed them to continue", he said.

Four passengers lost their lives

Mr Prior said he believed the crash would not have happened if any link in the complete "chain of events" that day had been broken.

Sarah Darnley, Duncan Munro and George Allison drowned after the helicopter hit the water.

Gary McCrossan, who had cardiac disease, died from heart failure following the crash.

The inquiry has also heard that one survivor, Samuel Bull, who was believed to be 28, later took his own life after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.

The inquiry, which was previously delayed due to coronavirus measures, continues before Derek Pyle, Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands.