A Helicopter Safety Steering Group will work to rebuild confidence among the offshore workforce in the wake of a crash that saw four crew members killed, Scotland’s finance secretary has said.
John Swinney stressed doing so “must be a key priority” amid calls at the Scottish Parliament from Labour to launch an independent public inquiry.
Shadow finance secretary Iain Gray said confidence among oil and gas workers was “so low” following the latest Super Puma crash such an inquiry is needed.
Mr Swinney gave a statement to Holyrood in the wake of the latest accident, which saw three men and one woman killed when a helicopter carrying workers from an offshore vessel crashed into the sea as it approached Shetland last Friday.
Fourteen people survived, including two crew.
Flights to and from offshore platforms have resumed following a temporary suspension, as experts said they found no information to suggest a technical problem was to blame.
Mr Gray said the Scottish Government should “send an important signal” and back calls for a public inquiry, similar to that carried out by Lord Cullen in the wake of the Piper Alpha disaster 25 years ago, he said.
“This is the fifth incident in recent times when helicopters have ditched, with 20 lives lost in two of those accidents,” he added.
“Whatever the conclusions of the air accident investigation regarding the cause of the August 23 ditching, the truth is there are wider questions now being asked to which the workforce will need answers to their strongest satisfaction if confidence is to be regained.
“Indeed, confidence is now so low that an industry review will not likely be able to restore it.”
Mr Swinney insisted the “correct approach” is to wait for the findings from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch before deciding if a public inquiry is necessary.
He said: “There has to be an investigation of this particular incident by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and that has to report.
“The Government maintains the correct approach is to wait for the sequence of investigations to be undertaken before we come to any conclusion about the need for a wider inquiry.”
Because many of the issues raised by such an inquiry are reserved to Westminster, the UK Government would also need to agree to this, Mr Swinney added.