Puma down in North Sea

[FWJ]

Seems a Puma carrying oil workers ditched tonight http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5762109.ece

Everyone ok thankfully

[APS]

Some of the "information" passed on by the media on this is absolutely ridiculous. My favourite being, "it's a remarkable landing when you consider that obviously the helicopter's rotors had no power ..."

Forgetting autorotation, and of course, that the aircraft's engine was in fact off-line. As was their truly remarkable "I'm amazed it's still floating," in total ignorance of the giant gasbags that keep it afloat. Considering the exhaustive survival training for all offshore workers, as well as the custom equipment carried by Super Pumas for the contingency of landing in the North Sea this was a textbook incident.

Not only did they go down within visual range of the arrival Rig, but they were able to issue a distress call. Unlike the Super-Puma that went down years ago below the Radar Horizon and out with visual range of any craft or facility and spent the night on the seas.