Helicopter Crash: Who Might Claim and Who Might be Liable?

Helicopter Crash: Who Might Claim and Who Might be Liable?

A helicopter crash in the North Sea could have been prevented after experts investigating the crash revealed that an earlier problem with the aircraft’s gearbox was not correctly identified.

According to the BBC website, a metal chip was found in the gear box of the Super Puma aircraft a week prior to the incident and engineers did institute extra checks. However, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) state that if the importance of the chip had been identified correctly then the module which failed could have been taken out of service. The experts indicate that a full review of the design and operating life of parts on the machine should be instigated.

It can be difficult to assess who should accept liability in such a circumstance as it seems that the engineers may not have been aware of the significance of the metal chip and clearly the helicopter had been inspected as this issue had been identified. In respect of this it is more likely to be that the manufacturer would be found to be at fault if their product failed to meet appropriate health and safety standards. However, if it had been in use for some time then the gearbox might have needed replacing.  The confusion in this instance seems to be over the understanding of the guidance issued to help operators work out the significance of each imperfection in the gearbox.

As a result, it would suggest that it was the manufacturer of the gearbox who would have been liable.

16 people died in this accident and so obviously wouldn’t be able to bring a claim themselves , however, people who fall within the category of dependants under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 might well be able to bring a claim to compensate them for loss.