The Tragic Story of the Lightning-Struck Super Puma | Mayday: Air Disaster

In 1995, a Super Puma helicopter carrying 16 oil workers to an offshore platform in the North Sea was struck by lightning and crashed during a hailstorm.
What measures do you think can be taken to improve safety for these workers and reduce the risk of accidents like the Super Puma helicopter crash?
Mayday: Air Disaster - From Season 3 Episode 7 "Helicopter Down": During extreme weather conditions, a Super Puma helicopter makes a routine journey to a North Sea oil platform. With a flash and a bang, routine goes out the window and the sixteen passengers and crew find themselves struggling for their lives.
Welcome to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster KZbin Channel.
Mayday: Air Disaster is a dramatic non-fiction series that investigates high-profile air disasters to uncover how and why they happened. Mayday: Air Disaster follows survivors, family members of crash victims and transportation safety investigators as they piece together the evidence of the causes of major accidents. So climb into the cockpit for an experience you won’t soon forget.
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[@MaydayAirDisaster]

What measures do you think can be taken to improve safety for these workers and reduce the risk of accidents like the Super Puma helicopter crash?

[@TheGrandtheftautops3]

Better Helicopter location tracking and radar technology improvements specifically for Helicopters.

[@LindaAggers]

​@@TheGrandtheftautops3 ⁵55⁵T5w⁴😢

[@kricketlangendoerfer8387]

​@@TheGrandtheftautops3 Yes, why don't they have radar on them as planes do? 🙀😿😾

[@paulanthonybridge5741]

Installing a parachute to reduce fall rate in an emergency

[@leonardisuryananda8128]

Reschedule or Delay.

[@micheleerwin2848]

The tragic part is how the pilot could have been held responsible had the tail rotor not been found. It sounds like they were quick to want to blame him.

[@neilsiebenthal9254]

Never underestimate a bureaucrats ability to shift the blame onto anyone else.

[@a2b3c]

yeah, blaming.. seems always oh so important for people.. pathetic

[@nightstalker2344]

In the aviation industry, the pilots are always guilty until proven innocent.

[@ItsLifewithLashay]

They always find someway to blame it on the pilot or deflect the blame from the company somehow.

[@spencergwin9454]

Cause it was their fault. Sorry but this documentary didn't prove their case conclusively. Steaming load of BS.

[@esvareinmal1041]

I’m a AW139 offshore captain flying in South China Sea 🌊 for the past 18 years, we face bad Manson season each year with difficult weather conditions and I tell you how operators try to blame the pilots before anything else. For most of us we think the day we have an accident and if we survive it may be the last day for our career if the aircraft won’t be found. EC225 fatal accident was the main reason I kept my flying job. Wish everyone out there a safe flying.

[@sierrahaberkorn6259]

Im surprised, the no one is talking about (as far as I can tell) the card, Captain Roberts received from one of his passengers Daughter's. It was so sweet and made me cry.

[@qwertyman9560]

Terrifying incident, excellent presentation, love this series, so educational

[@horisontial]

Why is a Mayday episode about a heli-lift accident to an oilrig the most futuristic thing I have ever seen? That thing that found the rotor blade assembly is insane!

[@joshthemediocre7824]

I'd still do this job. I can't imagine what it pays. Two weeks away from the rest of the world and then two weeks off..can i just stay on the water world hotel? i have no problem with working everyday if you're paying me like an oil company. I'm glad all these people survived, it would have been pretty intense but their training really paid off. All legends

[@flybouy11]

When everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.

[@KayAteChef]

Except the survival part. The ditching was chef's kiss.

[@bounthiankhammao3795]

I'm so happy that they all made it alive.

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

This is so serious but British accents are hilarious. Especially on the raft.

[@-danR]

It's an auditory illusion, Jethro. They are speaking Norwegian, with a Scots accent.

[@ytzpilot]

Britain is where the English Language originated, everyone else is a derivative of English Language

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

@@ytzpilot doesn't change anything about my comment.

[@ytzpilot]

@@user-ej2xz3lx2e no but it says a lot about you

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

@@ytzpilot lmao alrighty then

[@tristanstone4272]

The Investigation Teams should always start with the aircraft then play the 'Blame Game.'

[@jessicapearson9479]

It isn't the investigators who were blaming them. It was the idiots who refused to listen to the investigators about the blades who were trying to blame the pilots!!

[@janepagador209]

@@jessicapearson9479 FCU you why would you believe that

[@nelitasciretta7101]

Amazing job done be the pilots. I loved this video, thank you so much Mayday: Air Disaster!!

[@Wacky_Whimsy]

I have watched a billion of these, and that ending is my absolute favorite ever.

[@Tonic300]

if the curvature of the earth blocks radar from aberdeen why not make another atc tower on the main gate near another country or on another rig?

[@abigailvanvleet]

Because that makes too much sense

[@killyourtelllievision]

And that's assuming the earth is round which it may be. Just sayin

[@earspontherobloxplayer1744]

Too much money, gotta make budget cuts somewhere

[@jessicapearson9479]

Because they would have to build it right in the sea. Those oil rigs are not stationary at all! They are actually ships. Where they crashed isn't called a blind spot for no reason!

[@earspontherobloxplayer1744]

@@jessicapearson9479 good point I forgot

[@WinterSoldier100]

Great outcome. I thought there was no way anyone could survive such a freak accident. Amazing work from the rescue crew and of course the pilots. 👌

[@venomancer711]

Amazing job by the pilots with a little bit of luck with the tail rotor assembly not falling off and the wave coming up at just the right time. Men have always done such dangerous jobs throughout history to put food on the table for their families and its incredible because they know the risks and choose to do it anyway

[@TheEpicHavre]

Very good video. These youtube uploads rarely match the TV airing's quality but this had really good resolution!

[@Nehmo]

"We are in an emergency," says the pilot. ATC responds, "You realize this is your big opportunity to declare "Mayday, mayday, mayday". The pilot replies, "I'm a nonconformist, and, considering this is my last communication to the world, 'Mayday' isn't appropriate because KZbin viewers like the news announcements "

[@stephendacey8761]

That region of the world where the black sea is can be as dangerous as any place on earth.

[@benbaker2965]

North Sea .

[@stephendacey8761]

@@benbaker2965woops...thx

[@porternelson2926]

I wish they showed more mayday helicopter disasters.

[@elirothblatt5602]

Excellent storytelling, thank you.

[@christianhoffman7407]

A hidden lesson here is just HOW PROFITABLE the oil industry is. To have a ship the size of The Grampian Freedom at all times patrolling rough waters "just in case" can not be cheap. At the time of this incident oil was $15 a barrel and it paid for the ship in addition to all the other things you see going on here and plus so much more. Now it is about $70 a barrel. Still executives make obscene salaries then get bonuses even after stuff like this or worse (BP/2010) and shareholders are paid lucrative dividends. Man - it would be a shame if something happened to all that. Can you imagine what they might do to protect that? They definitely have the resources. Imagine if it was found out that their product was causing major problems world wide - do you think they would sit by and do nothing when that information got out? They might even try to stop it getting out in the first place, or go through great lengths to discredit that information. Thank goodness education is such in America that no one would take the word of oil companies over scientists.

[@stevesmith8693]

First i have to say how disgusted i am that the government tryed to blame the pilot's! Then after the evidence was revealed decided to not make any changes. The helicopter company just added more metals to the thing and called it good. Now if they had all died you know damn well the outrage would have made them spend the money for the changes. Thankfully they all lived. But the danger only got worse. This is whats wrong with the world. Why do people have to die for change to happen??? Make the company spend the money instead of putting it in your pocket.

[@squiddiot5477]

I don’t know if the person/people running this account know, but this video is unlisted - it can only be accessed by clicking an info button on a previous video. I don’t know if this was intention or not but most people aren’t going to be able to see this

[@greenpegatrix3773]

I'm guessing they fixed it.

[@kobra6660]

I think they're trying something new and different since this is a completely different video and everyone was wanting new different video

[@housemana]

no, you boomers are just confused lol

[@NocturnalNews]

Nope works fine for me and was not unlisted

[@richardbaker_0086]

@@housemana What’s a boomer?

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

Hollywood: Blackhawk Down AirCrash Investigations: Helicopter Down 🤣🤣🤣

[@benbaker2965]

This helicopter is not a Blackhawk. It is a Puma

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

@@benbaker2965 that wasn't the joke. But thanks, I didn't know that.

[@wilbill9]

Just in the first 10 minutes of this my thought was,,, if u lose sight of air craft due to the distance why not put a radar on a oil platform that sends signal back to land so they can watch all air craft

[@stevefox6864]

Good rescue

[@neilsiebenthal9254]

That's an excellent scientific mind... Something hasn't ever happened before that we know of, so it's impossible for it to ever happen.

[@nenblom]

Every time I see a BP sign, I think of the Deepwater Horizon. RIP.

[@venomancer711]

It was a PR disaster and no amount of money they spend can distance BP from the Deep Water Horizon

[@kathymyers-host6187]

I loved the letter 💌 from one of the Daughters of her Passenger Daddy....she was right 👍 Pilot used his head and kept calm 🙌💕 personally, I'd be throwing some Prayer's up before ANYTHING... maybe he did🤔or SOMEONE did🤔 maybe "Daddy" did🤔💕🙌🕊️...I'm glad it turned out well ❤️✝️🙏🙏🙏

[@devduttdesai6908]

Great job by pilots. 👍

[@bobgreene2892]

A number of hazards immediately evident-- all of which should have been addressed before 56 Charlie met disaster. 1. Navigation/location systems were fragile and poorly designed. For example, could any helicopter have determined its exact position by GPS? In a distress call, that much could have narrowed the search area, quickly. For another example, each oil rig could have had a radar unit to help locate objects in the swept area-- helping eliminate the loss of contact from Aberdeen. 2. Requiring helicopters to fly into hazardous conditions was a judgment call-- officially-- but pressure was on the pilot to complete the mission, and that contributes inevitably to disaster. 3. 56 Charlie was overloaded and its raft was not designed for the North Sea. Why was it difficult to anticipate these problems?

[@optombomber2980]

1.21 Gigawatts?! 14:41

[@jimsperlakis5634]

Their calculations of the power release from lightning vs the world's consumption is grossly wrong.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

When I'm asked why I never accepted any of the very lucrative jobs on oil platforms i was offered, I point to this.

[@sandythemonk]

So the rear rotor which was made of carbon fibre sandwiched between aluminium plates became a massive capacitor after the lightening strike.

[@j.griffin]

If that had held together until he tried to land and came apart when he went into final positioning, it would have been really bad. All in all, it could have actually had a tragic ending…

[@SirCarlosMusicBMI]

Do helicopters have black boxes like Jets have? Thank you 🙏

[@ChancetheCanine]

Guess not, they need the whole craft!😊

[@jessicapearson9479]

It isn't required but you can put one in. The issue with it though is it adds weight and ends up taking up precious space.

[@kobe51]

what's the salary for those rig workes?

[@projectlessweforget]

I've seen this multiple times on other channels that are "Mayday" focused. I literally don't understand why this channel and other's like it has to re-upload old videos like this. I'm surprised that these channels haven't think outside of the box for Mayday episodes. Mayday needs to expand outside of aircraft accidents to include the other two types of transportation including trains and ships. I can't be the only person who thinks that these channels needs to expand to trains and ships for Mayday episodes.

[@BackyardRambo]

Literally To make money off other peoples work.. duh….

[@AbcdEf-lz6oe]

There's only three episodes of the Mayday TV show that is about ships and trains. This channel is literally the Mayday official channel.

[@benbaker2965]

If I wanted boats and trains I would be watching other channels. The beauty of KZbin. There is something for everyone.

[@sihammer7942]

They only had a raft made for 14 people + there were 18 of them onboard the helicopter. That alone seems ridiculous, such a basic oversight is hard to believe, more passengers than there were places aboard the raft? That seems laughable, to me........... surely the capacity of the helicopter should equal that of the raft, shouldn't it? I would argue, yes.

[@Sc0pee]

Well, they had two of those rafts but the other one got stuck on the side of the helicopter because of strong winds, blocking that side's exit.

[@sihammer7942]

I see, I missed that, so they weren't as slack as I thought.......... I admit that not paying attention is something that's been suggested may possibly be an area with room for improvement. A few squared acres of room is probably about right, I'll have to work on it. Thanks for setting me straight on that, doing it without a hint of 'smart-arsery' is notable, admirable, too.

[@Sc0pee]

KZbin ads have seriously gotten out of hand. I'm getting an ad every 3 or 5 minutes on this video even with AdBlock!!!

[@yuglesstube]

They left the beacon in the helicopter.

[@brigidtheirish]

Did Sir David Attenborough narrate the safety video? That sounds a *lot* like Sir David Attenborough.

[@igorvasin6960]

the puma helicopter was copied from the Russian mi-8 mi-117, and the Russian helicopter proved its survivability. so I'm sure everything ended well.

[@ChancetheCanine]

This was labeled “Tragic “ how can that be??!!

[@stevesmith8693]

What's tragic about it is nothing was done to fix the problem. And they only made it worse by adding more metal to the craft. And the government refused to except the evidence. See the tragedy now?

[@flybouy11]

Attenuation can cause wrongful read on the radar

[@angelagreen3642]

Hear that flat earthers?? The earth is ROUND.

[@begbieyabass]

There is No Curve

[@saidansary6741]

Hi please give me Link for air crass landing movie in Hindi lunggauge

[@jd4200mhz]

one thing i have wondert about is the Colour of survival suit, red Colours are harder for the human eyes to see, why not use a Colour like bright white or yellow

[@ytuseracct]

they're look orange to me which is visible under water, although neon green is the most visible under water

[@jd4200mhz]

@@ytuseracct yes you might be right, but red or orange is still hard for the human eye to make out, and yes neon green would ne a very good idea

[@kellyhoy3902]

Could you bounce radar off a satellite?

[@drewherren7625]

30 Million Watts!?!?!? it's a miracle they weren't fried human sticks when they were found.

[@PbJamesD]

I luv this show

[@sheldonmurphy6031]

2nd Video....Subscribed! I truly believe that, BECAUSE of the insane amount of money used/invested in for the carbon fiber parts, acknowledging this fault would had resulted in BILLIONS, shoot, maybe trillions of dollars lost. Im willing to say, because of that, they did not want to recognize the cause of the accident, because if they did, then they would have to fix it. The loss of an airliner and people, does not compare to the cost they faced. I bet they were seen as the anomaly within the anomaly. Thats sad, but the market does not have feelings, and thats sad.

[@gandalfthegrey8236]

It wasn't very tragic, it was bound to happen eventually lmao

[@jessicapearson9479]

No, what is tragic is the idiots who refuse to listen to the warnings are refusing to fix the problem when the can!

[@markmullin4246]

You'd think with today's technology, there would be much better survival equipment available to these types of accidents!?

[@jackwoods9604]

Well This Was Like 28 Years Ago

[@markmullin4246]

@@jackwoods9604 and in some cases,I wouldn't be least bit surprised, hasn't changed much!

[@jessicapearson9479]

A bit longer that 28 years ago.

[@florian2442]

Yeah not much has changed since then. And it's all about money in the end so even if, and even though, better tech exists it's not economically feasable. If everyone had titanium cars, a lot less people would die in car accidents

[@jackwoods9604]

@@markmullin4246 That is True

[@anthonyconpeggie5220]

The (card) few words hold tons of weight

[@next......0101x]

😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@marshianoblackett6020]

Why didn’t the safety bored didn’t do anything cause a lot of planes now are made with carbon fibre if they get two hot with lightning strikes that a worry

[@spacebar9476]

I've read this somewhere - in a scientific forum - that a helicopter isn't meant to fly by design.

[@ogagstv8339]

In your face Flat Earthers

[@bobbobertson7568]

What?

[@jamesrogers4674]

Why's this titled tragic?

[@donovandelaney3171]

Helicopters are going electric.

[@kobra6660]

Well this is newdidnt know we were doing document videos

[@Brian-kl1zu]

1995: Were they that unsophisticated when it comes to locating a downed vessel? The pilots forgot to activate whatever locater they had onboard--Granted. In 2023; wouldn't rescuers be able to track them within a foot? Even in shifting seas? Am I woefully uninformed in this matter? Open to correction. (Setting aside the radar blind spot.)

[@jessicapearson9479]

They were in the blind spot and they CLEARLY stated that the locater beacon was left ON the helicopter as they were all in a rush to get out and had forgotten some of their training. Pay better attention.

[@florian2442]

Brian literally mentions both those points, maybe you should be the one to pay more attention... And my guess it just that the GPS system was not yet at the scale it is today, both in terms of amount of satellites deployed and the tech itself

[@jackseward7779]

Why can't Aberdeen and the platforms track low helicopters by satellite? Considering the weather up there, why aren't there better beacon systems? Since rafts were designed for 14, where is the second life raft?

[@kingarthur5110]

This incident occurred in the mid-90s, maybe satellite technology wasn't quite there yet?

[@bmoney7764]

All this toxic masculinity…..

[@janetwhite7786]

Good one! (That is assuming yr being facetious.)

[@florian2442]

Hahaha are we looking at the same comments?

[@nikkilabellevie1797]

How many more accidents, how many deaths before accepting scientific reality?

[@florian2442]

The scientific reality of what?

[@jamesburke6078]

Greed put them in that position....no sympathy!

[@janetwhite7786]

Right. All that foolishness just so their families can eat! What pigs.

[@peterguirguess853]

They chose to do a dangerous job..

[@yomommaahotoo264]

What about tea time?

[@mikemccaskey388]

What about women