Investigators say the fatal crash of a Bristow-operated Sikorsky S-92 off the coast of Norway “cannot be described as a controlled emergency landing,” as they begin to analyze the data they’ve retrieved from the aircraft.
On Feb. 28, the S-92, which had six crewmembers and was flying a search-and-rescue (SAR) training mission, hit the water about two nautical miles west of Løno, Norway. One crewmember — 61-year-old SAR nurse Reidun Hestetun — was killed in the incident.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA) said it has interviewed the five survivors and begun analyzing the data it has pulled from the recovered airframe. It cautioned that the investigation is still in an early phase and that data analysis “will take a long time.”
“So far, no significant discoveries have been made that affect the immediate flight safety,” the agency said in a March 8 update.
One area of initial focus is the aircraft’s floats, which were armed, but not triggered as the S-92 hit the sea.
“The flotation elements for the helicopter type are designed for a controlled emergency landing on water,” the NSIA said. “Although the accident appears to have had limited energy when it collided with the sea, it cannot be described as a controlled emergency landing. The fact that floats were not [inflated] may be because the situation that arose was outside the system’s limitations.”
