The Irish Coast Guard has said it is “closely monitoring developments” after the Sikorsky S-92A crash in Norway earlier this week which claimed one life.
A woman in her sixties died and five people were injured when the helicopter crashed into the sea off western Norway while on a search and rescue training mission for oil company Equinor.
The woman who died was reported to have been an Equinor employee.
Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority suspended all helicopter traffic to its offshore oil and gas fields immediately after the crash, while search and rescue units remained operational.
It indicated it was considering grounding Sikorsky's S-92A aircraft model while investigating the incident, but flights by oil and gas operating companies have now resumed.
Equinor expressed its sympathies to the family of the woman who died and said it “is cooperating closely with the helicopter operator Bristow Norway and relevant authorities in the handling and follow-up of the incident”.
The Irish Coast Guard said it "is closely monitoring developments following the Norwegian accident on Wednesday", and said there would be no planned interruptions to SAR services.
CHC Ireland (CHCI) use the Sikorsky S-92A for SAR from four bases on the Irish coast.
"Both the Coast Guard and CHCI extend deepest sympathy to all those impacted by the accident and in particular the families and friends of the deceased crew member. The accident is now the subject of an investigation by the Norwegian authorities,”a joint statement said.
Bristow Group said in a statement it was fully cooperating with authorities responding to the incident and that the company was in the process of collecting relevant information.
Bristow Ireland has been awarded the new contract for Irish Coast Guard SAR services from next year, using a fleet of AW189 helicopters.