Stockholm – Norwegian investigators on Tuesday said a technical error was believed to be the cause of a helicopter crash that claimed 13 lives on Norway’s western coast.
Kare Halvorsen, of Accident Investigation Board Norway, told a news conference in Stockholm.
“Based on the facts and visual observations, we know it was a technical accident and not due to human error onboard the helicopter,’’ Halvorsen said.
The Eurocopter model EC225 aircraft was bound for Bergen from the Gullfaks B oil platform, operated by Norwegian energy company Statoil, when it crashed into the sea on Friday near Turoy, about 40 kilometres from its destination.
“Everything was normal until the crash,’’ Halvorsen added, noting that the rotor blade had loosened from the helicopter, meanwhile the blade had been found on a small island.
Halvorsen told newsmen in Bergen that the search for missing parts would resume when the weather improved.
The investigation board said that information had been successfully retrieved from the helicopter’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which were sent to Britain for analysis over the weekend.
Police said 11 of those who died were Norwegian nationals; one was a British citizen, while other person was Italian. (dpa/NAN)
