Pilots of a Eurocopter EC225 LP Super Puma were afflicted with visual and sensory illusions and may have been confused by the reflection of an energy production platform on the water when their helicopter descended to the surface of the North Sea during an approach to the platform, accident investigators say.
The helicopter’s flotation devices inflated automatically, keeping it on the water’s surface, and all 18 people in the helicopter evacuated without injury, the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said in its final report on the Feb. 18, 2009, accident. The helicopter was destroyed by the impact, the prolonged exposure to salt water and damage incurred during salvage operations.
The AAIB cited three causal factors:
- “The crew’s perception of the position and orientation of the helicopter relative to the platform during the final approach was erroneous,” and neither pilot realized that the helicopter was descending toward the water. “This was proba…
