BEA report details fatal 2011 ditching of Héli-Union S-76C++ off Myanmar

A report has laid out what happened in a 2011 accident in which a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter operated by Héli-Union ditched shortly after taking off from a floating storage and offloading vessel in the Andaman Sea, off Myanmar's coast.

The helicopter, registered F-HJCS, had flown from Kanbauk to the FSO and was getting ready for a short onward flight to the Yetagun installation, about one nautical mile away. During a Performance Class 2 takeoff, the crew got an engine-out warning after the left engine's temperature reading entered a critical range. The pilots tried a controlled ditching, but the aircraft hit the water hard and capsized almost immediately.

The co-pilot and two passengers died. Eight other occupants survived, though according to the report they were only rescued after a delay in activating the vessel's emergency response plan.

The inquiry was originally opened by Myanmar's Accident Investigation Bureau, then delegated to France's Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses, which published the final findings. Flight data showed the aircraft commander had more than 5,100 flight hours, including over 1,100 offshore. The co-pilot had more than 6,300 hours, over 2,600 of them offshore.

The report reconstructs conditions at the time: wind from 228 degrees at 17 to 18 knots, with the vessel oriented on a 215-degree heading. The helicopter was hovering on a 125-degree heading before climbing to 25 feet above the helideck.

The findings point to engine failure as the immediate trigger of the ditching. They also flag shortcomings in the emergency response that followed.