Problems noted earlier with Copterline helicopter rotors
Eleven bodies recovered from Sikorsky fuselage; possibility of attempts today to lift wreckage
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As the grim task of raising the bodies of the fourteen victims of Wednesday's helicopter accident continued, news broke on Thursday that the crashed Copterline Sikorsky S-76 had experienced problems with its rotor-blades earlier this year.
According to information received by Helsingin Sanomat, the blades overheated some time ago, as the pilot was taking off. The turbine exhaust gases heated up the blades to such an extent that the rotor-blades began to shake on ascent.
The pilot had aborted the take-off and returned safely to the ground. The blade or blades were replaced.
As yet, no firm theories exist for why the aircraft plunged into the sea shortly after take-off from Tallinn on Wednesday afternoon, killing all on board.
Reijo Lamberg of the Finnish Flight Safety Authority noted that the earlier incident was reported to the FSA by the pilot concerned. Lamberg would not comment on whether the occurrence was of significance in the resolution of what had happened to the stricken helicopter on Wednesday.
A fatal Sikorsky crash that took place in Great Britain just over three years ago appears to bear some similarities with the present case. Officials have discounted the weather conditions and terrorism as possible causes for the disaster.
Meanwhile, during Thursday the bodies of eleven of the fourteen victims were brought to the surface by diving teams from Estonia and Finland. The bodies of all 12 passengers and two crew members were thought to have been found in the wreckage of the helicopter fuselage, still strapped into their seats, but on Friday morning it was announced that one of the pilots was still missing.
It is hoped that the last of the victims can be lifted out today, after which the task of raising the actual helicopter can get under way. On Thursday it was unclear as to whether the flight recorder would be brought to the surface separately.
The victims will be formally identified in Estonia, and forensic examinations will be carried out there to determine the cause of death. It is believed that the bodies of the Finnish victims will be transported home no sooner than the weekend or early next week.
The names of the victims - eight Finns, four Estonians, and two U.S. citizens - were released on Thursday.
The accident was a heavy blow for the Finnish Centre for Occupational Safety, which had five members of its Board on the aircraft, returning from a meeting in Tallinn. They include Managing Director Matti Kopperi, Director Marjut Ruotsalainen, and Ari Seger, who was to have taken over as Managing Director in October.
The other two were board-members representing the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) and the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK). They were board chairman Tapio Kuikko of EK and deputy board chairman Pentti Vainio from SAK. Kopperi and Seger were themselves former SAK officials.
The two pilots who died were Peter Fredriksson, 41, and Seppo Peurala, 57. Fredriksson was a former member of the Finnish Frontier Guard, and had been among the pilots working on the rescue of passengers from the Estonia ferry disaster in the fall of 1994. Peurala had worked as a commercial pilot for more than 20 years and had also piloted the Oulu-based SEPE medi-heli rescue helicopter.
Another unnamed Finnish man was among the dead.
According to Estonian newspaper reports, the Estonian victims were all women. Ruta Kruuda, 38, and Kristel Soll, 40, were travelling to Helsinki to see the javelin throwing competition at the IAAF World Championships.
Kruuda was a health policy expert and member of the Board of the Praxis Center for Policy Studies. She was also the wife of the prominent Estonian chocolate manufacturer Oliver Kruuda. Two Estonian musicians in their early 20s, violinist Liisa Suuster and pianist Carolina Kremenetski, were also among the dead.
According to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, the American victims were 86-year-old Lydia Riis Hamburgen and her daughter Mary Elizabeth Hamburgen. The pair had been in Estonia for a wedding and were returning home.
Copterline announced on Thursday that it was cancelling its flights on Saturday and Sunday.
The company now has only one helicopter for the route between Helsinki and Tallinn. Pilots must be rested, and the helicopter will be given its routine 100-hour service.
Weekend flights have also been cancelled for the following week, but services will continue more or less normally on weekdays. Copterline normally flies more than 20 scheduled services between the two capitals each day.
According to information received by Helsingin Sanomat, the blades overheated some time ago, as the pilot was taking off. The turbine exhaust gases heated up the blades to such an extent that the rotor-blades began to shake on ascent.
The pilot had aborted the take-off and returned safely to the ground. The blade or blades were replaced.
As yet, no firm theories exist for why the aircraft plunged into the sea shortly after take-off from Tallinn on Wednesday afternoon, killing all on board.
Reijo Lamberg of the Finnish Flight Safety Authority noted that the earlier incident was reported to the FSA by the pilot concerned. Lamberg would not comment on whether the occurrence was of significance in the resolution of what had happened to the stricken helicopter on Wednesday.
A fatal Sikorsky crash that took place in Great Britain just over three years ago appears to bear some similarities with the present case. Officials have discounted the weather conditions and terrorism as possible causes for the disaster.
Meanwhile, during Thursday the bodies of eleven of the fourteen victims were brought to the surface by diving teams from Estonia and Finland. The bodies of all 12 passengers and two crew members were thought to have been found in the wreckage of the helicopter fuselage, still strapped into their seats, but on Friday morning it was announced that one of the pilots was still missing.
It is hoped that the last of the victims can be lifted out today, after which the task of raising the actual helicopter can get under way. On Thursday it was unclear as to whether the flight recorder would be brought to the surface separately.
The victims will be formally identified in Estonia, and forensic examinations will be carried out there to determine the cause of death. It is believed that the bodies of the Finnish victims will be transported home no sooner than the weekend or early next week.
The names of the victims - eight Finns, four Estonians, and two U.S. citizens - were released on Thursday.
The accident was a heavy blow for the Finnish Centre for Occupational Safety, which had five members of its Board on the aircraft, returning from a meeting in Tallinn. They include Managing Director Matti Kopperi, Director Marjut Ruotsalainen, and Ari Seger, who was to have taken over as Managing Director in October.
The other two were board-members representing the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) and the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK). They were board chairman Tapio Kuikko of EK and deputy board chairman Pentti Vainio from SAK. Kopperi and Seger were themselves former SAK officials.
The two pilots who died were Peter Fredriksson, 41, and Seppo Peurala, 57. Fredriksson was a former member of the Finnish Frontier Guard, and had been among the pilots working on the rescue of passengers from the Estonia ferry disaster in the fall of 1994. Peurala had worked as a commercial pilot for more than 20 years and had also piloted the Oulu-based SEPE medi-heli rescue helicopter.
Another unnamed Finnish man was among the dead.
According to Estonian newspaper reports, the Estonian victims were all women. Ruta Kruuda, 38, and Kristel Soll, 40, were travelling to Helsinki to see the javelin throwing competition at the IAAF World Championships.
Kruuda was a health policy expert and member of the Board of the Praxis Center for Policy Studies. She was also the wife of the prominent Estonian chocolate manufacturer Oliver Kruuda. Two Estonian musicians in their early 20s, violinist Liisa Suuster and pianist Carolina Kremenetski, were also among the dead.
According to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, the American victims were 86-year-old Lydia Riis Hamburgen and her daughter Mary Elizabeth Hamburgen. The pair had been in Estonia for a wedding and were returning home.
Copterline announced on Thursday that it was cancelling its flights on Saturday and Sunday.
The company now has only one helicopter for the route between Helsinki and Tallinn. Pilots must be rested, and the helicopter will be given its routine 100-hour service.
Weekend flights have also been cancelled for the following week, but services will continue more or less normally on weekdays. Copterline normally flies more than 20 scheduled services between the two capitals each day.
Helsingin Sanomat