On the night of July 6, 1988, a series of violent explosions and a large fire destroyed the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea. Only 62 crew members survived out of the 229 personnel on board. Many workers were trapped because rescue helicopters could not approach when confronted with flames 100 meters high. The majority of those who survived jumped from the platform into the rough sea.
Exponent participated in the public inquiry conducted by the British government under Lord Cullen and performed combustion/fire tests to investigate possible sources of ignition.