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EASA issues emergency AD as investigators claim ‘technical fault’ caused Norway H225 crash

By Oliver Johnson | May 3, 2016

Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 57 seconds.

The main wreckage and other components from the crash are being stored at the Haakonsvern naval base in Bergen, Norway. AIBN Photo
The main wreckage and other components from the crash are being stored at the Haakonsvern naval base in Bergen, Norway. AIBN Photo
Following a day of development in the investigation into the fatal crash of the CHC Helicopter-operated H225 near Turøy, Norway, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) requiring several one-off inspections of the type’s main gearbox (MGB) as a “precautionary measure.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) revealed its belief that a “technical fault” was the cause of the crash, while Airbus Helicopters maintained its position against a suspension of the global EC225LP/H225 fleet.

EASA’s AD (2016-0089-E) states that the preliminary crash investigation indicates an in-flight separation of the main rotor hub from the main gearbox (MGB), and while the root cause of the accident was still to be established, EASA requested the following checks to be performed before flight in an EC225LP:

  • Check the correct installation of the front and right hand and left hand rear MGB suspension bars in accordance with the instructions of Airbus Helicopters (AH) EC225 Alert Service Bulletin No.53A058.
  • Check the chip detectors of the MGB for absence of metallic particles in accordance with the instructions of Work Card 60.00.00.212 of AH EC225 Maintenance Manual (MMA).
  • Perform an oil filter check of the MGB for absence of metallic particles, in accordance with the instructions of Work Card 63.24.01.061 of AH EC 225 MMA and, if any particle is collected, refer to Standard Practices Manual MTC 20.08.02.601.
  • For helicopters equipped with M’ARMS Vibration Health Monitoring system, download data and check for any threshold exceedance. Ensure availability of these data in case future analysis needed.
At a press conference at the Haakonsvern naval base in Bergen, Norway — the facility in which the main wreckage and other components from the crash are being stored — Kaare Halvorsen, the director of the AIBN’s aviation department, said the board was “as certain as we can be” that a technical error caused the crash.

“On the basis of the facts we have, this involves a technical fault; it isn’t human error,” he told the assembled media, according to a BBC report.

Halvorsen also confirmed that the crew had no time to send an emergency message before the crash, and that there was less than one second between the fault appearing and the helicopter’s flight recorder coming to a halt — thought to have been caused by the main rotor detaching from the aircraft. However, he reiterated that the investigation was in its early stages, and that no conclusions could be drawn.

In response, Airbus said it would continue to provide its full support to the AIBN investigation, which it said would now solely focus on potential root causes of a technical failure, such as design, production, and/or maintenance.

There are 179 aircraft in the global H225 fleet, including 40 in the North Sea region. The aircraft remains grounded in the U.K. and Norway following safety directives issued by the two countries’ civil aviation authorities, but the decision to operate it outside these jurisdictions remains with individual operators.

In a statement provided to Vertical, CHC said it has expanded the grounding of the aircraft across its global fleet. “In collaboration with our stakeholders, customers and regulatory authorities, pending further regulatory guidance, we have temporarily put on hold all EC225 commercial flights around the world with the exception of search-and-rescue missions,” the operator said. “We have been able to deliver our flight program for the week and are working with our customers to prioritize the availability of alternative resources to provide as much capacity as possible using those resources.”

In an SEC filing released yesterday, offshore operating giant Bristow said it had grounded six of its nine H225 operating in Australia following the crash (the remaining three will continue to operate for search-and-rescue missions).

The rest of Bristow’s fleet of 27 H225s are registered either in the U.K. (13 aircraft) or Norway (five aircraft), and are therefore affected by those country’s groundings. However, four of the company’s Norwegian-registered aircraft will continue operating for search-and-rescue missions.

Separately, Shell Norway has temporarily suspended all its passenger flights in Norway with CHC while it seeks to “reaffirm that all operational requirements are met to the defined standards” with the operator.

“We are working to find alternative helicopter service providers to temporarily support our operations in Norway, and continue to work closely with CHC HS to complete the verification process,” a Shell spokesperson said. “Shell continues to use CHC for offshore services globally outside Norway.”

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