Copterline Crash Investigation Clears Ground Personnel
The Public Prosecutor's Office has concluded its investigation into the 2005 Copterline crash, finding that neither air traffic service personnel nor heliport operators had violated safety procedures.
Five years ago, the Finnish-operated Sikorsky S-76C passenger helicopter plunged into Tallinn Bay shortly after taking off for Helsinki, killing all 14 on board.
A separate investigation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs had since found that the accident was caused by a failure of a hydraulic servo actuator, uudised.err.ee reported.
Criminal proceedings were also opened in Estonia to determine whether the US-based manufacturer had violated safety regulations, but were closed this August after no response was received from US prosecutors by the legal deadline.
According to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Sikorsky has paid damages to the next of kin of the victims in an out-of-court settlement. Copterline is also suing Sikorsky and the parts manufacturer for compensation in US courts.
Copterline operated a regular passenger service on the Tallinn-Helsinki route from 2000 to 2005, with several flights per day between the capitals. Though it restarted the flights after the crash, it failed to attract passengers and halted the service in December 2008. The company went bankrupt this February.
