Shetland helicopter crash: Fears over Super Pumas The latest North Sea helicopter tragedy has engendered a "complete lack of confidence" in Super Puma aircraft, with some oil workers now refusing to fly in them, union leaders warned. As the final body was recovered from the wreckage of the helicopter that ditched off Shetland on Friday, killing four workers, calls were growing last night for the aircraft to be scrapped. All Super Puma flights to UK oil and gas platforms have been suspended following the ditching, the fifth in four years. But families of offshore workers have called for the fleet to be scrapped over the renewed safety concerns. Industry leaders are due to meet today to discuss the tragedy and are likely to look at the possibility of moving offshore workers by boat. The wreckage of the aircraft was finally recovered from the sea at Fitful Head, near Sumburgh on the southern tip of Shetland, yesterday evening, following an operation hampered by fog and bad weather. The Super Puma family is the workhorse of the North Sea sector and accounts for between 45 and 50 per cent of flights, according to the pilots" union. Models not linked to recent accidents are among four variants grounded by the three largest Aberdeen operators. Industry experts warned the grounding would have a major impact on the industry with "huge delays" in transporting oil and gas workers to and from platforms. The RMT union said it was "inevitable" that some drilling platforms would have to shut down, at a substantial cost to the companies involved. Jake Molloy, the union's offshore organiser in Aberdeen, said the fleet had been rightly grounded, but the impact on the industry could not be underestimated. He told The Scotsman: "We are inevitably going to see rigs shut down, especially some of the mobile drilling units, which have three-week on, three-week off shifts. You can't have people working continuous shifts, doing a fourth week. UK good practice says you shouldn't, because the environment is very, very strenuous, both mentally and physically. He said some workers had insisted they would not board the Super Pumas. He went on: "We've had e-mails and calls saying people will refuse to fly, although I should say not a flood of people. However, I've not seen this level of opposition towards an aircraft since the Chinook crash in 1986, when 45 were killed. The workers said "we're not stepping foot on that aircraft again" and Chinooks have never been used since." Mr Molloy added: "I understand people are frustrated. However, I would urge everyone to allow the authorities to determine what caused this crash. If our members want action against the Super Pumas we will support them, but we must be given all the facts before we make any decisions. Tommy Campbell, regional officer for Unite, said a "groundswell strong opposition" had developed in just two days. He said: "There is a complete lack of confidence towards Super Pumas on the part of the workforce and this is now a fundamental issue the oil industry has to address. My understanding is there is a meeting of the oil companies tomorrow and alternatives, including the use of boats for transport, will be discussed. However, these have their own issues due to the terrible conditions in the North Sea. This is a very, very rich industry and for the sake of our members and their families, we need to see it invest in state-of-the-art helicopters. Estimates suggest there are up to 1,900 workers transported to and from platforms each day. CHC Helicopters, which owned the downed aircraft, has suspended all UK commercial flights following a recommendation from the offshore industry's Helicopter Safety Steering Group. Bond Offshore Helicopters and Bristow have also enforced a temporary suspension of all Super Puma flights, except for Bond's on-alert rescue aircraft. Bristow said three flights scheduled for yesterday had been cancelled and further updates would be issued in due course. Last night, families of offshore workers spoke of their frustration at the handling of the situation, and demanded that the Super Puma models were scrapped from North Sea service. A Facebook page calling for Super Pumas to be scrapped has attracted 22,700 "likes" since Saturday. Fran Hutchison wrote on the social networking site: "My partner is due onshore tomorrow, not once have any of the workers due off of his rig tomorrow been briefed about what's happening, 18 men in limbo not knowing whether they're getting home, some of them have done a 3 week shift, are shattered, and yet the top dogs still don't have enough respect to keep their employee's updated, It's disgusting." Adam Joseph Edwards also wrote: "Let's stand side by side and get these death traps out of the skies for good." An online petition has called for greater use of the American S-92, the most advanced helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky. The S-92 was introduced widely in Norway after a clamour for better safety from oil unions. The founder of the Facebook page, an unnamed oil worker, said in his experience, the Sikorsky had more sophisticated safety features. The worker said: "I had an experience of an engine cutting out on the Sikorsky and it dropping, but because everything is backed up it was started in no time." The Super Puma L2 plunged into the North Sea on Friday with the loss of four of the 18 crew and passengers. It had collected personnel from the North Alwyn platform and then flown on to the Borgsten Dolphin before heading for Shetland. The four who died were Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin; Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness; Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland; and George Allison, 57, from Winchester. Ms Darnley's mother, Anne, spoke yesterday of her family's shock and said her daughter was "a fun-loving free spirit." The Sodexo catering and support worker is believed to be the first woman to lose her life in the North Sea oil and gas sector. She worked for the firm for a decade and is said to have loved the three-week shift pattern, as it allowed her to travel widely. Her mother said yesterday: "She had great camaraderie with her colleagues and over the years she made some fantastic friends. Sarah lived life to the full. She will be deeply missed.