Helicopter crash: Final body found

Apr 5 2009

The body of the last victim of the North Sea helicopter crash which killed all 16 passengers and crew on board has been recovered, police said.

The Bond Super Puma was found earlier on Sunday by divers from a support vessel off the coast of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

All 16 of those who died in the accident have now been found and the black box has been taken to the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) headquarters in Farnborough to be examined.

Grampian Police said the families of all the victims have been informed.

A spokesman said: "Although we appreciate that this again confirms sad news for families, the recovery of all the victims has been a priority of the investigation from the outset and we hope it will allow some comfort at this difficult time."

The Super Puma helicopter came down, killing its 14 passengers and two crew on Wednesday afternoon as the aircraft returned from a BP oil platform. Eight bodies were recovered in the aftermath of the accident.

It was always believed that the remaining bodies could still be in the fuselage of the helicopter.

Specialist diving teams had been working at the scene since Saturday afternoon trying to locate the wreckage. The AAIB also said it had recovered the combined Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder (CVFDR). The helicopter had been returning from BP's Miller oil platform when it crashed about 15 miles off Peterhead at 2pm on Wednesday.

As well as the captain and co-pilot, Paul Burnham, 31, and Richard Menzies, 24, the other missing men were Nolan Goble, 34, of Norwich, Gareth Hughes, 53, of Angus, David Rae, 63, of Dumfries and Leslie Taylor, 41, of Kintore, Aberdeenshire, along with James Costello, 24, from Aberdeen, who worked for contractor PSN, and Alex Dallas, 62, also from Aberdeen.

Police already identified the other eight bodies recovered. Brian Barkley, 30, of Aberdeen; James Edwards, 33, of Liverpool; Vernon Elrick, 41, of Aberdeen; and Mihails Zuravskis, 39, from Latvia, were all identified on Saturday. All four men were employed by KCA Deutag. Raymond Doyle, 57, from Cumbernauld; Nairn Ferrier, 40, from Dundee; Warren Mitchell, 38, of Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, and Stuart Wood, 27, from Aberdeen, also died.