First Report Issued By The Agency Indicates Wreckage Has Been Broken Up By The Shore

In its first report from an accident involving a CHC Helicopters Super Puma which resulted in the fatal injury of four of the 18 people on board the aircraft, the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch says the aircraft appeared to be operating normally until it was on its approach to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands.

Preliminary information gathered by the AAIB indicates that the approach proceeded normally until approximately three miles from the runway when there was a reduction in airspeed accompanied by an increased rate of descent. The helicopter struck the sea approximately two miles west of the Runway 09 threshold.

The evidence currently available suggests that the helicopter was intact and upright when it entered the water. It then rapidly inverted and drifted northwards towards Garths Ness. The helicopter was largely broken up by repeated contact with the rocky shoreline. Some items of wreckage have already been recovered and will be transported to the AAIB's HQ in Farnborough.

Attempts to recover the Combined Voice and Flight Data Recorder, together with other wreckage items, are continuing. This is a challenging operation due to the nature of the environment in which the wreckage is located.

The AAIB said in a news release that the investigation is ongoing and at this early stage it is not possible to identify the causal factors leading to the accident.

FMI: www.aaib.gov.uk