On Wednesday evening, a search and rescue helicopter crashed west of Sotra in Vestland. The helicopter took off from Flesland at 18.24, and took part in a search and rescue exercise with the ship “Wilson Twisteden” on behalf of Equinor. The helicopter type is considered to be the safest in the North Sea, according to the Pilots’ Association. This happened minute by minute At 18.24 the helicopter took off from Flesland. At 19.30 the helicopter concludes a practice with a ship from Wilson Shipping on assignment for Equinor. The helicopter flies to the west. At 19.38, the helicopter probably loses radar contact, according to Aircraftregister.net. At 19.41 the helicopter hits the water. An emergency message is then sent out via an emergency bearing transmitter in the helicopter. The message comes to the Main Rescue Center in Southern Norway. Boats in the area are asked to watch for a helicopter on its way to the lake. At 20.11 the police received a report of a possible helicopter crash in the sea west of Algrøy in Øygarden municipality. Haukeland Hospital set the emergency to the so-called yellow level. Two air ambulances and a rescue helicopter from the Swedish Armed Forces, SAR Queen, move out and begin to retrieve people from the water. The Coast Guard, a rescue boat and a rescue helicopter from Florø are also moving out. The main rescue center cannot make contact with the helicopter. At about 8.30 p.m.: Øygarden municipality receives notification of a helicopter accident. They saw emergency staff. Persons are observed in the sea and hoisting starts. The persons must have been in the sea for 45-50 minutes. At 20.55 the police confirm that there has been an aviation shutdown in the sea west of Sotra in Vestland. At 9 p.m., a rescue helicopter lands with the first five people who were picked up from the sea on the helipad of Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. People who have been lifted from the sea arrive at Haukeland University Hospital. Photo: Eirik Brekke / Bergens Tidende At 21.15, news confirms that the Accident Investigation Board is in the process of staffing up. At 21.19, the sixth and last person is lifted from the sea, and then taken to the hospital. At 21.25, Haukeland University Hospital confirms that they have received six people. The condition is unclear. At 21.50 the rescue operation is over. 10 p.m.: The police set up a reception for relatives. The rescue boat has started to find wreckage. Several parts are being searched for. It was a helicopter of this type that crashed into the sea outside Bergen. Photo: JetPhotos, OpenStreetMap, ADSB-Exchange This is the type of helicopter The missing helicopter has the nickname NORSAR6 and is of the type Sikorsky S-92. It belongs to Bristow, one of the largest companies that flies crew to and from the oil platforms in the North Sea. The search and rescue helicopter has a standby watch for the platforms. The map shows where the helicopter flew before it crashed. The company writes on its website that the helicopter type is the most advanced civil aircraft Sikorsky has. The helicopter type is approved according to the strictest safety requirements of both the American Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency. There have been 38 recorded incidents involving Sikorsky S-92 helicopters since July 2007, including Wednesday’s crash, according to the website of the Aviation Safety Network. Seven of them were owned by Bristow in Norway, six were owned by Bristow in other countries. 15 important minutes for the rescue operation The main rescue center in Southern Norway is satisfied with its own response time for the rescue operation. – The response time would have been up to 15 minutes longer had it not been for the fact that the rescue helicopter was already practicing, says rescue manager Ståle Jamtli. He believes that these minutes are very valuable in a rescue context, and cannot see that this could have been done any faster in any way .
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