Bristow Helicopter Limited on Thursday suspended operations, less than 24 hours after one of its choppers ditched into the Lagos Lagoon, killing six of the 12 persons on board.

The airlines Head of Communications, Cornelius Onuoha, who announced the decision in a statement, in Lagos, said the suspension was in line with aviation standards.

According to him, the suspension is to allow proper investigation to be carried out on the incident, to avert further occurrence.

He said that appropriate decision concerning its operation, would be communicated as the investigation continued.

Onuoha explained that the airline had informed the next of kin of the affected families that lost their members in the crash.
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He said that it was too early to predict the cause of the unfortunate incident.

“It is much too early to talk about the cause of this incident. It will take weeks or months of investigation to determine why the incident happened.

“The investigation will be conducted by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and we will cooperate fully.

“We will not speculate about what may have been the cause, and we encourage others not to speculate. Our pilots are trained to the highest standards in the industry,” he said.

In a statement earlier by its regional Manager, West Africa, Duncan Moore, the airline said the aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C+, was returning from a drilling rig offshore.

“Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft carried 10 passengers and a crew of two.

“The company is in the process of collecting pertinent information and will release details as soon as they are available,’’ the statement said.

Six persons rescued from the lagoon are still receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Lagos.

The airline has not released the manifest of passengers that are on board the ill-fated chopper.

(NAN)