Survivor of Super Puma crash which killed Elgin woman and three other offshore workers tells inquiry his training saved his life
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A SURVIVOR of a helicopter crash which killed four people, an Elgin woman, says his simulation training kicked in and saved his life.
On the second day of a fatal accident inquiry into the 2013 crash off Shetland, Matthew Bower described the moments the Super Puma went into the water and overturned.
He also recalled how, having escaped within about 10 seconds, he helped with chest compressions in trying to save oil rig worker Gary McCrossan, who had got into a life raft, until help arrived.
Mr McCrossan (59), a father-of-two of Westhill, Inverness, was among 18 passengers on board. He died from heart failure.
Sarah Darnley (45), from Elgin, Duncan Munro (46), from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison (57), from Winchester, all drowned.
A survivor, Samuel Bull, took his own life in 2017 after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Recalling the crash, Mr Bower (31) told the inquiry he was sitting directly behind the pilots, facing backwards.
He had fallen asleep but when he woke he saw Sarah Darnley looking panicked.
"It was quite clear she was worried about something," said Mr Bower who said the sea was significantly closer than expected and then it was clear they were falling.
He said the sea was coming towards them too quickly and it felt as if the helicopter lurched to one side.
They hit the water at an angle and the helicopter instantly went over.
Mr Bower said going into the brace position was "instinctual".
He said the helicopter was instantly filling with water.
"This is when your training kicked in," he recalled.
Upside down, he knocked his window out, opened his buckle, and swam to the surface.
In response to a question from Martin Richardson for the Crown about whether training was helpful, Mr Bower replied: "It saved my life on that day."
Fellow survivor Mark Martin said modern-day safety training was a "joke" compared to his past experiences, while Paul Sharp said training simulations should have more force to recreate the reality of impact.
The inquiry, being heard virtually before Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle, continues.
