OFFSHORE workers renewed calls for a public inquiry into helicopter safety today after a watchdog for air accidents flagged concerns of serious fatigue among workers.

An Air Accidents Investigation Board (AAIB) report found that tiredness among ground staff may have contributed to a near-miss at Aberdeen Airport.

The incident, which happened in July 2018, involved an Airbus 175 helicopter operated by CHC Scotia.

The full AAIB report claims that the aircraft’s landing gear appeared to fully retract during the landing approach.

But the landing gear then collapsed when touching the runway because of an engineering fault.

The workers on the aircraft were disembarked while the helicopter was in a low hover, which was then safely brought to ground by using sandbags to support the aircraft’s fuselage.

It was subsequently discovered that part of the helicopter’s frame replacement had not been properly installed, and that the engineer tasked with fixing the frame had only taken two rest days over the previous 31 days.

Managers were not aware of this breach of North Sea workers’ rules on fatigue and overwork.

The report concluded that workforce fatigue was a possible contributing factor to the work error.

RMT has called on the Scottish government to urgently launch a public inquiry into safety standards for North Sea workers.

General secretary Mick Cash said: “The findings of fatigue and a lack of care for engineers working on the offshore helicopter fleet is deeply disturbing for offshore workers and their families.

“The government’s abject failure to take this problem seriously over the last decade is another slap in the face for offshore workers who keep our economy ticking over but are simply expected to get on with travelling in helicopters that are subject to dangerous levels of commercial pressure.

“This ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach to the safety of offshore workers must be faced down and an independent public inquiry launched into the safety of offshore helicopters, including the commercial pressures that this latest safety investigation has again flagged up.

“RMT will be stepping up the pressure on government and safety agencies for that inquiry this week.”