North Sea helicopter crash: Tributes to Droitwich pilot
The family of one victim, 53-year-old Gareth Hughes of Arbroath, said they had come up against a “brick wall” in trying to get information about the crash.
Daughter Victoria Williams said: “They couldn’t tell us anything. They couldn’t tell us whether my dad had been on that flight.
“I am saddened by the fact they couldn’t even give us the respect to tell us that my dad was on the flight and I think it’s disrespectful to him, to us and any other family that is going through the same thing.”
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said its investigation had begun into the crash.
A spokesman said: “A team of 13 AAIB personnel comprising inspectors and support staff have arrived in Aberdeen, supported by representatives and advisers from the aviation industry. A search for the wreckage has been initiated.”
A report would be published in due course, he added.
BP’s Bernard Looney said those on board had not been wearing personal locator beacons but that would have made little difference. He said the beacons were useful in situations of low visibility and when rescue craft were some distance away.
He said: “It seems highly unlikely that they would have made a difference.”
Mr Looney said any workers with reservations about flying as part of their job would not be made to do so.
He said: “If people are concerned about flying and flying offshore we will not force them to fly. That is very, very clear.”
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