Image: Evert Vorster / shutterstock
The pilots of the Airbus Helicopters EC175 B were conducting predeparture checks for a flight from a North Sea platform when they observed a problem, shut down the engines, and applied the rotor brake. The blades continued slowly turning, however, and as the commander and helideck crewmembers struggled to secure the helicopter in shifting high winds, a blade broke off, narrowly missed striking a crewmember, and fell into the sea.
The crewmembers backed away, and over the next 100 minutes, three additional blades failed. Hours later, as the wind died down, the last of the tie-down straps was at…
