The airline pilots’ union has confirmed it will launch a legal bid to stop a black box recorder from a fatal North Sea helicopter crash being handed to prosecutors.
British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) is to appeal to a Court of Session decision which allowed recordings from a Super Puma which crashed off Sumburgh, Shetland, in August 2013, to be released.
Four offshore workers died in the tragedy.
Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland successfully argued that gaining access to the recording was necessary to speed up the criminal investigation.
However, Balpa said the move could damage an “open safety culture” amongst pilots if data was to be used to “assign blame” before air accident specialists had completed their own investigations.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch has yet to report its findings into the Sumburgh crash.
Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said: “The 2013 Super Puma accident was tragic and it is vital the AAIB gets to the root cause and has access to whatever data it needs.
“However, providing the data to the prosecutor and the police in parallel to the AAIB’s investigation cuts across everything pilots and the broader flight safety community stand for.
“We cannot stand by while the court allows that to happen without pursuing other legal avenues to highlight our concerns and question whether it is the correct approach.
“Sumburgh was one of a series of helicopter accidents in Scotland. Balpa has pressed for a public inquiry into why this is so.”
Those who died in the crash were Sarah Darnley, from Elgin; Gary McCrossan from Inverness; Duncan Munro, from Bishop Auckland and George Allison, from Winchester.
Last night, the Crown Office said it had a duty investigate all sudden, suspicious and unexplained deaths.
Lawyers for a number of workers who survived the crash said crucial questions surrounding the tragedy must be answered.
The court ruling only allows information from the recordings to be released to prosecutors and police.
Lisa Gregory, Partner at Digby Brown Solicitors in Aberdeen, said: “The disclosure of data from the black box will be an important development in the investigation. As part of the process, wider implications arising from disclosure should be considered but the overarching focus has to continue to be on those affected by the crash and their families.
“A number of individuals we represent remain concerned that what is being proposed does not go far enough and will not allow answers to crucial questions about what happened to be established.”