Pilot weeps as he recalls crash into sea

Sea.

Captain Shelbourne said he could remember only ''scattered bits and

pieces'' of the 55-second flight from Shell's Cormorant Alpha platform.

He said that since the disaster his flying licence had been taken away

for life by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Capt. Shelbourne, 30, repeatedly broke down in tears during his

evidence.

Survivors of the tragedy in March and relatives of the 11 men who died

were in the public benches of the temporary courtroom in Aberdeen to

hear Capt. Shelbourne's evidence.

He told the inquiry that he had little recollection of the flight or

what had gone on beforehand that day.

Procurator fiscal-depute Ray Craig asked if he could remember anything

about the flight from when it took off until it hit the sea.

He replied: ''Some scattered bits and pieces about the flight, not a

great deal. We obviously took off, I can't remember exactly what we

did.''

''I can't remember exactly how it was flown or anything like that. I

presume it was all normal. That is my recollection, it was all normal. I

remember my co-pilot Ian Hooker saying, 'Check height'.''

He told Mr Craig he could not remember the aircraft hitting the water.

All he could remember was being under the water and getting out of the

helicopter.

He and Mr Hooker, who died in the tragedy, escaped from the helicopter

as it sank. Both swam with difficulty towards a tattered liferaft.

''I can remember climbing on it and going through it because there was

no bottom in it. I can remember hanging on to it. There were four people

in it whose names I now know.''

He said Mr Hooker was one of the men clinging on to the raft and he

was conscious of a rescue helicopter coming to the scene. He could not

remember being winched to safety.

He told Mr Craig that he had been to the CAA for a medical and that,

as a result, he had lost his licence permanently. He said his licence

had not been taken away for any physical reasons.

Capt. Shelbourne, from Banchory, Kincardineshire, told his own

counsel, Mr Hugh Campbell, QC, that he had gone to the CAA voluntarily.

Mr Campbell asked: ''And what you were concerned about was the effect

of the accident on your own feelings such that you could not fly

again?''

Capt. Shelbourne replied: ''Yes.''

Earlier, the editor of the

Aberdeen-based newspaper the Press and Journal was found guilty of

contempt of court following a report of the proceedings in Friday's

newspaper.

Derek Tucker admitted that the article, submitted by a freelance

journalist, had been altered after it had reached the office on Thursday

afternoon.

Mr Tucker agreed that the first paragraph and headline, which stated

that pilot error had been to blame for the tragedy, was inaccurate but

emphasised that the reporter who had submitted the original story was

blameless.

Sheriff Alexander Jessop said the report must have caused distress to

Capt. Shelbourne, the witness to whom the remark was attributed, Capt.

Michael Betts, of Bristow helicopters, and other parties.

He deferred sentence on Mr Tucker until January 7, but said that, if a

#500 donation was made to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and a full

apology carried in the paper, he would consider an absolute discharge.

The inquiry will resume on January 7.