Helicopter blade which broke off during Storm Otto in North Sea 'almost struck worker'

A worker was almost struck by a broken helicopter rotor blade during a storm in the North Sea.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) found the the Airbus H175 helicopter had landed with six passengers onboard on Elgin-Franklin’s PUQ platform, which is more than 100 miles east of Aberdeen, on February 17, 2023, during Storm Otto.

The helicopter, which the report described as being “rocked” during the strong winds, did not take off for its return flight due to a warning light and after speaking with engineers, crew were advised to shut the aircraft down.

They applied the brake to stop the rotor from spinning but it “did not fully stop”, resulting in crew attempting to strap the vehicle down amid high winds with the blades still “turning slowly”.

Staff were forced to retreat as wind speeds increased and a blade broke off, nearly striking one worker who was attempting to attach the final strap at the rear of the helicopter.

The rotor blade separated from the machine and fell into the sea, while the three remaining blades broke off and landed on the helipad.

A ship later took the helicopter back to the mainland.

In its external report the AAIB described how the helicopter’s rotor brake had failed, meaning the blades continued to slowly rotate after landing which preventing workers from easily strapping it down in the stormy conditions.

It was subsequently found that a “build-up of organic material” in the braking system had caused one of the pads to seize, resulting in the brake being unable to stop the rotor when it was being driven by the wind.

The AAIB said it had found “several operational shortcomings” and faults, and has made six recommendations to improve safety, including improved rotor brake maintenance and changes to wind measurement on rig helipads.

The report’s recommendations include changes to wind measurement on rig helipads and the inclusion of improved rotor brake maintenance processes in the Airbus EC175 manual.

Storm Otto caused power cuts to around 27,000 homes and shut dozens of schools across Scotland and northern England, recording winds as high as 80mph.