Bristow Flight 56C
| Bristow Flight 56C | |
|---|---|
 wreck |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Lightning strike, followed by ditching |
| place | approx. 11 km southwest of the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea |
| date | January 19, 1995 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 18 (all) |
| Injured | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Eurocopter AS332L "Super Puma" |
| operator | Bristow Helicopters |
| Mark | G-TIGK |
| Surname | Cullen |
| Departure airport |
 Aberdeen International Airport
|
| Destination airport |
Brae Alpha oil rig, North Sea
|
| Passengers | 16 |
| crew | 2 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
Bristow Flight 56C was a helicopter flight between Aberdeen International Airport and the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea .
On January 19, 1995, the Eurocopter Super Puma , which was used for this flight, was struck by lightning . All inmates who were on their way to work, as well as the two pilots, survived the accident unharmed.
crew
The commander of the flight was the 44-year-old Cedric Roberts, who had been with the company since 1974 and accumulated more than 9,600 flight hours. The first officer was 39 year old Lionel Sole. He has been with Bristow since 1990 and had 3,100 hours of flight experience.
Air accident
During the flight, the helicopter got caught in a storm and was struck by lightning, which caused great damage to the tail rotor . The pilots were able to hold the helicopter in the air for a few minutes until the tail rotor completely failed and failed. So one was forced to ditch . The helicopter's emergency air cushions enabled passengers and pilots to get to a life raft in good time . Despite the heavy swell and violent storm, all occupants were recovered unharmed.
The lightning strike was the only one in the whole storm and was possibly caused by the helicopter flight. The accident investigation also uncovered possible difficulties with the composite materials and the brass stripe design of the rotor blades that made the helicopter vulnerable to lightning strikes.
additional
The episode “Helicopter Down” in the Mayday series - Alarm in the cockpit deals with the accident.
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 58 ° 36 ' N , 1 ° 10' E