What happened
On the night of 21 November 2006, a Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma, registration G-JSAR, performed an emergency landing in the North Sea, approximately ten nautical miles northwest of Den Helder. The helicopter was conducting a mission to transport personnel from the K15B production platform to the mainland following a prolonged power outage on the platform. During the return flight, the crew encountered fluctuations in engine revolutions and issues with the aircraft's steering, prompting the decision to ditch the aircraft.
Following the landing, the four crew members and thirteen passengers were evacuated into the sea. The rescue operation, coordinated by the Coast Guard, successfully recovered all occupants after approximately one hour. While most individuals were uninjured, one passenger required hospital treatment for mild hypothermia.
The investigation
The Dutch Safety Board examined the sequence of events leading to the emergency, focusing on three interconnected areas: the decision-making process regarding the evacuation of the K15B platform, the technical flight anomalies experienced by the G-JSAR, and the effectiveness of the subsequent rescue and evacuation procedures. The investigation also scrutinized the regulatory framework governing the use of civil Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters for passenger transport and the organizational safety management systems of the involved parties.