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Monday 18 May 2009

Talks over locator beacons held

Plans to reinstate personal locator beacons for workers on helicopters flying offshore have been discussed at meetings in Aberdeen. The devices have been banned by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). They were found to have interfered with equipment on helicopters after a Super Puma ditched into the North Sea in February. All 18 on board survived.

Oil and Gas UK met with the helicopter operators to discuss the reinstatement as quickly as technically feasible. There have been calls to find a way for the devices to be brought back into use on safety grounds, once the technical issues have been resolved, to help find anyone involved in a search operation as quickly as possible.

Robert Paterson, Oil and Gas UK's health, safety and employment issues director, explained: "Finding a technical solution to allow the reinstatement of personal locator beacons is a challenging task. "This is still work in progress, however I am confident that we are now on route to finding a solution." 

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