North Sea helicopter crash caused by gearbox failure

OPERATORS of a North Sea helicopter had been planning to replace its main rotor gearbox a week before the unit suffered a "catastrophic failure" leading to a crash which killed all 16 aboard, an air accident report said yesterday.

A magnetic particle had been found on the chip detector in the gearbox of the Eurocopter Super Puma, a final report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said. This had led the operator to initiate a plan to remove the main rotor gearbox and replace it with a unit from another helicopter undergoing heavy maintenance, the AAIB said.

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