The tragic loss of life arising from the recent crash of a Eurocopter Super Puma AS332 L2 on the 23 August 2013 brings into sharp focus the dangers of North Sea Oil and Gas. This tragedy is personally poignant to me as I served in a Royal Navy search and rescue (SAR) unit based in Scotland that was resourced with ageing but superbly maintained Sea King helicopters.
Herein lies the case for quality – Ageing Design: the original design of the Super Puma came into production in 1981 with a series of product extensions in areas such as avionics, engine and gearbox power to meet the demands of the expanding commercial market. A focus on incremental improvement not continual improvement, to compete Eurocopter must invest an estimated €500m into research and development of a helicopter for civilian transport and search and rescue operations. This ageing theme extends to the Eurocopter helicopter product portfolio with new versions stymied by delays and cost overruns for potential replacements for the Super Puma in the form of the NH90 and Tiger military version helicopters.
Design issues aside the Eurocopter Super Puma and its variants have been involved in five accidents in the North Sea since 2009.
Specifically the Eurocopter Super Puma AS332 L2 has accounted for 20 fatalities in the North Sea over the past five years the worst being an accident occurring in waters off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland in April 2009 resulting in 16 fatalities. The investigation into the accident conducted by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded gearbox failure that may have been diagnosed if the “metallic particle discovered on the epicyclic chip detector during maintenance on 25 March 2009, some 36 flying hours as an indication of second stage planet gear” failure.
As a result the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recommended that “Eurocopter, with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), develop and implement an inspection of the internal components of the main rotor gearbox epicyclic module for all AS332 L2 and EC225LP helicopters as a matter of urgency to ensure the continued airworthiness of the main rotor gearbox”.
This recommendation contributed to the introduction of safety Directives by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and new pertinent maintenance guidance by Eurocopter. Surprisingly AAIB investigators highlighted parallels with an earlier accident in 1980 involving a SA330J Puma helicopter indicating a clear absence of a factual approach to decision making – an organisational failure to learn from past events that unfortunately led to deadly consequences. Subsequent two forced landings of albeit variants of the Super Puma led to a UK ban on sea flights which was only lifted in July 2013
Eurocopter the world’s largest commercial helicopter manufacturer saddled with excess inventory, poor cash position and under pressure from agile competitors such as Bell Helicopters, Augusta Westland who are keen to acquire a piece of its market share as energy operators opt for transport firms that use alternative helicopter supplier, may yet face Darwinian extinction if it does not evolve and focus on quality.
