The helicopter left the Safe Felicia semi-submersible oil platform in the Forties oilfield at 13:45 with 2 pilots and a full load of 19 passengers for the one hour flight to Sumburgh Airport on the Mainland of Shetland.

The floats were deployed and a gentle ditching was made about 3 minutes after the initial noise had been heard, by which time the helicopter's cabin had filled with smoke.

A recovery operation was mounted using the DSV (diving support vessel) Stena Marianos which arrived on site on 16 July 1988.

The recovery operation had to be ended on 19 July before finding the engines or transmission components due to the Stena Marianos having other commitments.

These addressed improvements in maintenance, early detection of problems, emergency escape equipment, documentation and training provisions, and firewall integrity.