Offshore helicopter operators have been ordered to comply with a new airworthiness directive to ensure that life rafts do not fail to release in an emergency.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued the emergency directive for Airbus Helicopters EC225.
A previous directive was issued last year ordering repetitive inspections of the bellcrank of the inflation cylinder percussion system.
This followed an incident involving the jamming of the bellcrank, which could lead to failure of release of the life rafts.
Since then, a new occurrence of jamming was reported and the investigation results determined that it had been caused by corrosion in the bellcrank hole.
The new directive requires repetitive cleaning and lubrication of the affected bellcrank and pivot link.
Life raft-release fear triggers new directive for North Sea copters
