THE UK aviation watchdog has responded to calls for all Super Puma helicopters to be permanently grounded, claiming any such decision would need to be taken at a European level.
Reacting to a petition to withdraw the aircraft after 14 people died in an accident off Norway, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also said it would "never place commercial pressure above safety".
Oil worker Iain Stuart, 41, of Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, was among the victims of Friday’s accident near Bergen. He and the others on board were en route to an oil platform.
All Super Puma helicopter flights to UK offshore platforms have since been suspended as investigations into what happened continue.
However, the petition - which has been backed by family members of those killed in other Super Puma accidents off Peterhead and Shetland - calls for them to be withdrawn permanently.
It states: "We call on the CAA to put the lives of offshore oil workers and the pilots before vested interests, and revoke the air-worthiness certificates for this aircraft. Failure to do this will result in more needless deaths."
The petition has already attracted more than 25,000 signatures in just six days.
In a letter to The Herald, the CAA respond: "Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the Norwegian helicopter accident. The safety of those who travel on offshore helicopter flights is paramount.
"As an independent safety regulator the CAA will never place commercial pressure above safety."
The letter adds: "Aircraft and helicopters are given safety clearance on a European-wide (rather than national) basis by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). A permanent grounding of a type of helicopter would require EASA to withdraw the helicopter’s overall approval, affecting all European Super Puma helicopters."
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