Airbus to pay ERA $42 million in H225 settlement

Airbus Helicopter H225

Airbus has agreed to pay helicopter operator Era Group $42 million as compensation over the grounding of the H225.

A significant amount of the aircraft type was grounded by regulators in the wake of a fatal crash of a CHC H225, which resulted in the death of the 13 passengers on board in April 2016.

The accident report pointed towards a crack in the H225s main gearbox that caused the crash.

Two of the biggest countries to ground the aircraft were the UK and Norway. Whilst both countries later rescinded the ban in 2017, ERA Group announced afterwards that it would not be putting its fleet of H225s back in service unless the manufacturer proved that Airbus could “develop a detailed safety case that demonstrates the H225 model can be operated safely”.

The operator filed the lawsuit back in December 2016. In the litigation settlement, ERA Group claimed that the legal claims were made against Airbus related to the “marketing, sale and purchase” of the eleven H225s.

ERA Group was just one of the companies seeking compensation, including Wells Fargo Bank and ECN Capital.