Helicopter carrying 14 workers ditches in North Sea In April 2009, 16 people died when another type of Super Puma crashed into the North Sea, 11 miles off Peterhead, following a catastrophic gear box failure. Six weeks earlier, 18 people unhurt survived when an EC225 aircraft ditched near a BP installation around 125 miles east of Aberdeen. A report by the AAIB said the pilots in that incident failed to notice the helicopter was descending into the sea about 300 yards short of a BP oil and gas platform in poor visibility. Jake Molloy, an oil industry expert with the RMT union, said: "If helicopters are landing in the North Sea, obviously you have to be concerned about safety, but at this stage we don't know enough about what caused it." He said the previous accidents were "still at the forefront of everybody's minds" and the cause of the latest incident must be explained "sooner rather than later." The aircraft was flying from Aberdeen to the Maersk Resilient rig, and then on to the drilling rig ENSCO 102, for the oil company ConocoPhillips. Alex Salmond, the First Minister Alex Salmond said it was a "very concerning" time for the friends and family of those on board, adding: "Incidents such as these remain very rare but do serve as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those offshore workers who are required to use helicopters on a regular basis. Once all of those involved have been transferred ashore, the priority will be for the appropriate authorities to investigate the causes of this accident and ensure the future safety of flying operations in the North Sea. Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, said the incident "shone the spotlight yet again on the issue of safety in our offshore industry" and raised fundamental questions that must be addressed by operators and the safety authorities. Jim McAuslan, general secretary of pilots' union Balpa, said the ditching looked like a "terrific piece of airmanship from very skilled pilots." He said ditching a helicopter was one of the most difficult manoeuvres in commercial aviation, adding: "We pay the utmost tribute to the pilots involved in the incident and, of course, the search and rescue pilots who came to the passengers' and crew's aid." James Ferguson, an accident and emergency consultant at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said the men were very lucky, adding: "They were all pretty shaken when they first came in and looked pretty pale."