2016

AAIB Report on 2013 Sumburgh Helicopter Accident (CHC Scotia AS332L2 G-WNSB)

Accidents & Incidents, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, FDM / Data Recorders, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

AAIB Report on 2013 Sumburgh Helicopter Accident (CHC Scotia AS332L2 G-WNSB) The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published its report into the 23 August 2013 accident were CHC Scotia Airbus Helicopters AS332L2 Super Puma G-WNSB impacted the sea on approach to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands.  The AAIB report is 266 pages long.  This article is

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Germanwings: Psychiatry, Suicide and Safety

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

Germanwings: Psychiatry, Suicide and Safety The French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) has issued their report into the loss of Germanwings Airbus A320 D-AIPX and 150 lives in the French Alps on 24 March 2015, which was due to the actions of the Co-Pilot.  Below we focus on the highlights from the 110 page report. The Co-Pilot

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Heli-Expo 2016

Step Change in Safety: Helicopter Safety Update 2016

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Step Change in Safety: Helicopter Safety Update 2016 Step Change in Safety held a webinar on North Sea helicopter safety (covering CA-EBS, emergency egress, FCOMs and airworthiness matters) on 9 March 2016 (following on from a March 2015 event we have previously covered). Introduction Step Change is a tripartite UK offshore health and safety organisation combining companies,

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Shell Pernis 11.2t Ethylene Oxide Leak

Accidents & Incidents, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management

Shell Pernis 11.2t Ethylene Oxide Leak The Dutch Safety Board has reported (in Dutch) on the leak of 11.2 tonnes of ethylene oxide from a overhead pipe at the 550 hectare Shell Pernis oil refinery on 30 December 2013. The leak was detected by a site worker at what is Europe’s largest refinery, surrounded by 500,000 inhabitants. Ethylene oxide is

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Forgotten Fasteners – Serious Incidents

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

Forgotten Fasteners – Serious Incidents We examine three incidents where fasteners were forgotten during maintenance.  It two cases these maintenance errors resulted in parts falling from the aircraft.  In a third, a massive fuel leak occurred. Incident 1 – Twin Otter Mission Pod The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) has recently reported on a

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Heli-Expo 2016 Photo Report

Accidents & Incidents, Business Aviation, Design & Certification, FDM / Data Recorders, Helicopters, Military / Defence, Mining / Resource Sector, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Special Mission Aircraft, Survivability / Ditching

Heli-Expo 2016 Photo Report News from HAI Heli-Expo 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky (1-3 March 2016): Airbus Helicopters H215 Airbus Helicopters had on show the newly designated H215, formerly the AS332C1e (i.e. an enhanced, short fuselage Super Puma) and AS332L1e (the long fuselage version), to be built in Romania and aimed at aerial work, disaster relief and other

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Misrouted Engine Fuel Control Cable Hawker 800XP

Accidents & Incidents, Business Aviation, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

Misrouted Engine Fuel Control Cable Hawker 800XP In Issue 4/2015 of TP 6980 – Canadian Aviation Service Difficulty Reports – Feedback an maintenance error involving a Hawker 800XP fuel control cable is reported: During a planned major structural inspection, the technician noticed that the no.1 engine high-pressure fuel lever cable was trapped under the cover of the electrical junction

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Pitot Punctures Floats in Icelandic SAR Ditching

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Helicopters, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Offshore, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft, Survivability / Ditching

Pitot Punctures Floats in Icelandic SAR Ditching The ditching of Icelandic Coast Guard Aérospatiale SA365N Dauphin TF-SIF in the Atlantic off Reykjavik on 16 July 2007 highlights the importance of avoiding protuberances that can puncture emergency flotation systems, careful configuration management and establishing emergency drills. The Icelandic Transportation Safety Board (ITSB), the RNF, issued their report in

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Falcon 7X LOC-I Due To Solder Defect

Accidents & Incidents, Business Aviation, Design & Certification, Safety Management

Falcon 7X LOC-I Due To Solder Defect On 25 May 2011, Dassault Falcon 7X business jet, HB-JFN, operated by Jet-Link, suffered a pitch trim runaway that caused a 40° pitch up, rapid climb and temporary Loss of Control Inflight (LOC-I) over Malaysia. First flown in 2005 and certified in April 2007, after a 590 flight, 1600 flying hour test programme,

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UK CAA CAP1145 North Sea Helicopter Safety Two Years On

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

UK CAA CAP1145 North Sea Helicopter Safety Two Years On Not long after the fatal loss of Eurocopter AS332L2 G-WNSB of Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands on 23 August 2013 with 4 fatalities (AAIB Special Bulletin), the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched an rapid review on offshore helicopter safety. That CAA Review resulted in the CAP1145 report (‘Safety review of

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US Helicopter Accident Rate Analysis

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Safety Management

US Helicopter Accident Rate Analysis Aerossurance recently looked at US Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) accident data for the last 10 years and has also examined accident rates in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and gas operations.  We thought we would also look at published accident rates for all US helicopters and demonstrate the effects of choosing different start

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First Eleven: Guidance for Designers on Maintenance Human Performance

Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

First Eleven: RAeS Guidance for Design Organisations on Maintenance Human Performance The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Human Factors Group: Engineering (HFG:E) has published a short guidance document on 11 steps an aviation Design Organisation (DO) can take to “deliver safer, more effective and reliable aircraft through improved design for maintenance”. The RAeS say: Aircraft safety

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Troublesome Tiedowns

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management

Troublesome Tiedowns The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recently reported on two cases in October 2015 were helicopters offshore suffered accidents after the tie-downs were not fully removed: Fish Spotting Helicopter, Pacific Ocean (B206, N1060C) On 21 October 2015 Bell 206B N1060C was being prepared for take-off from the 74m Fishing Vessel Majestic Sun off Christmas Island,

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EASA and Ejection Seat Certification

Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Military / Defence, Regulation, Special Mission Aircraft, Survivability / Ditching

EASA and Ejection Seat Certification The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have issued a series of Certification Review Items (CRIs) for proposed Special Conditions and Equivalent Levels of Safety for a Part 23 ejection seat equipped tandem two-seat trainer aircraft to be certified in the Normal and Acrobatic categories.  The CRIs consist of: CRI 102 Special

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US HEMS Accident Rates 2006-2015

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft, Survivability / Ditching

US HEMS Accident Rates 2006-2015 The safety of US Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operations has been a topic we have discussed previously.  With HeliExpo approaching, when 10 years of the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) will be marked and with US NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt just publishing a HEMS article in Professional Pilot,

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Machining Defect Cause of V2500 Failure

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Safety Management

Machining Defect Cause of V2500 Failure On 18 September 2014 JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 N656JB experienced a Number 2 IAE V2527-A5 engine failure and under-cowl fire during initial climb out from Long Beach, California. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) say in their report: The flightcrew shutdown the No. 2 engine, discharged both fire bottles, and

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Ignoring Corrosive Environment Brings Down B206 Helicopter

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Regulation, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

Ignoring Corrosive Environment Brings Down B206 Helicopter An operator that ignored the Rolls-Royce M250-C20 Series Engine Operation and Maintenance Manual classification of their entire island operating location as a “severe corrosion operating environment” and failed to do the associated maintenance requirements suffered the loss of the their Bell 206B3. Emerald Pacific Airlines B206B3 B-31019 was hovering at

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UKMFTS Fixed Wing Aircraft Service Provision Contract Awarded

Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Military / Defence

UK Military Flying Training System  Fixed Wing (UKMFTS) Aircraft Service Provision Contract Awarded The contract to provide Elementary, Basic and Multi-Engined training aircraft to the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) through to 2033 has been awarded. The contract was placed by Babcock / Lockheed Martin joint venture Ascent Flight Training. Ascent, selected as the UK MOD’s

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Leonardo Strives For Greater Gearbox Loss of Lube Capability

Design & Certification, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management

Finmeccanica Strives For Greater Gearbox Loss of Lube Capability Finmeccanica Helicopters (the recently rebranded AgustaWestland (UPDATE: and now Leonardo) is working to enhance the durability of helicopter Main Gear Boxes (MGBs) after a loss of lubrication. The company’s Marco Tamborini presented their approach at the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 9th Rotorcraft Symposium held in Cologne in December

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