Chopper crash survivor tells of impact
Updated on 21 February 2009
An oil rig worker who survived the North Sea helicopter crash has spoken of his ordeal.
Finlay McGregor, 56, said he felt an impact before the chopper plunged into the water 125 miles east of Aberdeen on Wednesday night.
Workers on the BP installation raised the alarm after they saw the aircraft hit the water around 550 yards from the Etap oil and gas production platform.
Speaking from his home in Tain in the Highlands, Mr McGregor said: "It was just like somebody rear-ending you with a lorry. A few seconds after that we were in the water."
Mr McGregor, a welder who works for Transocean, was one of 16 passengers on the Super Puma helicopter who escaped on to rubber liferafts and waited for help to arrive along with the pilot and co-pilot.
He said: "When we actually landed in the water, I thought that was it, finished. I didn't think I was going to get out of this."
Mr McGregor went on: "Once we were in the life rafts it seemed an eternity before the rescue helicopters arrived.
"It was very, very cold, but the pilot was there and he was explaining what was probably happening."
After the alarm was raised at around 6.40pm on Wednesday a major rescue operation was launched involving an RAF Nimrod, RAF Sea King, civilian aircraft and boats.
Three people were eventually winched to safety by a Bond rescue helicopter which arrived 40 minutes after the accident, while the other 15 were later recovered by a platform lifeboat and transferred to the Caledonia Victory, which made for Aberdeen.
BP suspended using Super Puma helicopters from operator Bond Offshore for North Sea flights on Thursday as a precaution.
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