A UK Government minister was under fire last night for refusing to meet the widows of the oil workers who died in the 2013 Super Puma crash.
Labour MP Frank Doran said he was “extremely disappointed” Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin had declined an invitation to meet families and the survivors who were on-board the doomed flight.
Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, George Allison, 57, from Winchester and Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland died when the aircraft plunged into the sea near Sumburgh in Shetland in August last year.
Mr Doran said it had been an “incredibly” difficult decision for the wives and partners of the three men to get publicly involved with the issue of offshore helicopter safety, and that they had given a “great deal of consideration” to a potential meeting with Mr McLoughlin.
In a letter to the government minister, the Aberdeen North MP said: “They are ordinary people who went about their business but who lost a loved one in appalling circumstances.
“Their lives have been destroyed and they want answers because they know of the record of the helicopter industry in the North Sea.
“They don’t want to see other families in the situation they are now.”
Mr Doran said many of the survivors of helicopter crashes had been left suffering from depression and anxiety.
He said that in 1988, following the Piper Alpha disaster, he had requested a meeting between Cecil Parkinson, former secretary of state for energy, and families affected by the tragedy.
He added: “Cecil, to his credit, recognised the importance of the meeting and also the opportunity to hear their views.
“The families and survivors of the numerous helicopter disasters in the offshore oil and gas industry are entitled to answers, and I think it is the responsibility of the secretary of state to be part of that process.
“At the end of the day you will make the decision, either to continue on your present path or to look again at the issues which they will raise.
“But at the least, I think it is your responsibility to do the courtesy of hearing what those people most affected by the failures have to say.”
The full investigation into the 2013 crash has yet to be concluded but a bulletin issued by the Air Accident Investigation Branch said last year that pilot error may have been a factor.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of those involved in this tragic incident.
“The Transport secretary has received Frank Doran’s letter and will reply.
“The Civil Aviation Authority has made a number of recommendations which the department believes will lead to improvements in the safety of offshore helicopter operations.
“It is important the necessary actions are taken to rebuild oil and gas workers’ confidence in offshore helicopter transportation in the wake of this tragedy.”