Oslo. An Airbus Super Puma helicopter that crashed off the Norwegian coast on Friday (29/04), killing at least 11 of the 13 people on board, had maintenance servicing delayed twice last year, an official at the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority told Norwegian daily VG.

"I can confirm that this specific helicopter had seen its maintenance delayed. It is correct that there was an application for a so-called travel-time extension," a senior legal adviser at the Civil Aviation Authority, Hege Aalstad, told the website of VG.

"The first one was for a delay of 100 flying hours ... and the other was also for 100 flying hours."

A spokeswoman at the helicopter's operator, CHC Helicopter, which is owned by US private equity firm First Reserve, was not immediately able to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Reuters