A helicopter crashed last week at a semi-submersible drilling rig operated by US contractor Diamond Offshore for Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras in the prolific Santos basin while conducting training operations, it has emerged.
According to Petrobras’ oil workers union Sindipetro-NF, the incident occurred on 2 June, when a helicopter owned by Omni Taxi Aereo hit the helideck of the Ocean Courage.
The aircraft, which was running a simulated training for aero medical rescue at night, had a crash landing on the rig’s helideck, injuring five people.
These included three people that were on board the helicopter and two workers that were assisting operations at the rig.
Sindipetro-NF said all five suffered minor injuries and received medical treatment at the Ocean Courage. Petrobras confirmed the incident.
“The helicopter was removed on 4 June. Causes of the incident are under investigation,” said Petrobras.
Petrobras last year agreed to charter the Ocean Courage for a 810-day period. The new contract started recently.