Super Puma crash: Funeral of oil worker Iain Stuart to take place
The funeral of a Scottish oil worker who died when a helicopter crashed in Norway killing 13 people is to take place on Friday.
Iain Stuart, 41, from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, worked for the oil field services company Halliburton. The father-of -two was on board the Airbus EC225LP "Super Puma" when it crashed near Bergen on 29 April. Mr Stuart's funeral will take place at Laurencekirk Parish Church before he is laid to rest at Laurencekirk Cemetery. A statement from his family said he was "a good friend to many and will be greatly missed by all who knew him". The maker of the helicopter that crashed has lifted its recommendation that the same type of aircraft be grounded worldwide. Airbus Helicopters said initial evidence suggested no link with two previous incidents in Scotland involving Super Puma H225 helicopters. The aircraft will remain grounded in the UK, however, as a Civil Aviation Authority flight ban remains in force. In 2012, two EC225 Super Puma helicopters ditched into the North Sea in Scotland - one off Aberdeen and another off Shetland. Both incidents were blamed on gearbox problems and all passengers and crew were rescued. EC225s in the UK were grounded following the incidents but given the go-ahead to resume flying in August 2013. Later that same month a different model of Super Puma, the AS332 L2, crashed off Shetland, killing four people. Super Pumas are responsible for many of the 140,000 helicopter passenger flights in the UK each year.