Norwegian authorities have recovered the wreckage of the Bristow-operated Sikorsky S-92, following the aircraft’s crash into the sea during an evening training flight on Feb. 28.
The aircraft had left Bergen airport with six people on board to conduct search-and-rescue (SAR) training near Løno, about 15 miles west of Bergen — and it was there that it crashed into the sea.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA) said a recovery ship found the wreckage 220 meters below the surface on March 1. The aircraft was then taken to the Haakonsvern naval base for initial investigation.
The S-92 had been on a contract with Norwegian energy company Equinor, and over the weekend, the company confirmed that one of its employees — 61-year-old SAR nurse Reidun Hestetun — had died in the accident.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the family and friends who have lost their beloved Reidun in this tragic accident,” a statement from Equinor said. “We mourn the loss of a close and dear colleague.”
After initially pausing all offshore flights, Equinor said it resumed normal operations on March 1. It took this decision in consultation with the aviation authorities, operators, trade unions and other energy companies in the region, it said.
“The unions and safety delegates are satisfied with the information we have received during the process,” said Baste Daltveit, coordinating head safety delegate for Equinor on the Norwegian continental shelf on behalf of unions and the safety delegates. “We thought it was right that flights were paused after the accident. When the authorities and other professional communities say that it is safe to start ordinary transport services, we must have great confidence in them and the decisions that have been made.”
