News & Comment

PDG Helicopters Commence UK & Eire Lighthouse Support Contract

Helicopters, Logistics, Mining / Resource Sector, Offshore, Safety Management

PDG Helicopters Commence UK & Eire Lighthouse Support Contract On 1 December 2015 PDG Helicopters commenced a £13mn helicopter support contract for the three UK and Eire General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs): The Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, known as the Northern Lighthouse Board (Scotland and the Isle of Man) whose history goes back to 1768 The Corporation of Trinity House, known […]

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Bristow Sikorsky S-92A

S-92A Emergency Landing: MGB Oil Checklist Recommendation

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

S-92A Emergency Landing: MGB Oil Checklist Recommendation Earlier this month the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board (AIBN) issued their report into an emergency landing of Sikorsky S-92A LN-ONW, operated by Bristow Norway on 4 October 2013.  The crew almost ditched due to false warnings created by a single tripped circuit breaker. The Incident The S-92A was returning from the

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Misassembled Anti-Torque Pedals Cause EC135P1 Accident

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

Misassembled Anti-Torque Pedals Cause EC135P1 Accident The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recently determined that misassembled anti-torque pedals caused an accident to Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter) EC135P1 N911KB, during a post-maintenance check flight by Metro Aviation at Shreveport, Louisiana on 9 November 2013. The Accident The pilot and two mechanics sustained minor injuries and the helicopter was substantially damaged

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Norwegian Survival Suits: Suited for Safety

Accidents & Incidents, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Norwegian Survival Suits: Suited for Safety The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Agency (PSA), has published a piece on the history of survival suits in Norway in their latest Dialogue magazine. Amusingly their first illustration highlights a hazard unique to early survival suits that we discussed after the 2014 Oil & Gas UK annual aviation seminar, namely cigarette

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HeliOffshore HUMS Best Practice Guide

HeliOffshore Launch HUMS Best Practice Guide

Helicopters, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management

HeliOffshore Launch HUMS Best Practice Guide The offshore helicopter safety organisation, HeliOffshore, has today launched a Health & Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) Best Practice Guide to standardise and improve HUMS use worldwide. The main element of helicopter HUMS is Vibration Health Monitoring (VHM), designed to detect developing mechanical failures in safety critical transmission and rotor systems components.

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When Down Is Up: 747 Actuator Installation Incident

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

When Down Is Up: 747 Actuator Installation Incident The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published their report into a serious incident involving Boeing 747-443 G-VROM on 29 December 2014. History of the Flight The AAIB report that: The aircraft departed from London Gatwick Airport for a scheduled flight to Las Vegas. Following retraction of the

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New NHV Heliport Under Construction in Aberdeen

Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Helicopters, Logistics, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy

New NHV Heliport Under Construction in Aberdeen At a time of low oil price it might be surprising to hear that a new heliport is being constructed at Aberdeen Airport in Scotland, but that is what is currently happening. Belgian operator NHV, the launch customer for the EC175 (now H175), has previously been reported to have been keen to establish

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Regulation (EU) 376/2014: Reporting, Analysis and Follow-up of Occurrences in Civil Aviation

Accidents & Incidents, Air Traffic Management / Airspace, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, News, Safety Management

Regulation (EU) 376/2014: Reporting, Analysis and Follow-up of Occurrences in Civil Aviation On 15 November 2015, a new European Union wide aviation reporting regulation came into force.  The European Commission has created a safety reporting portal. Previously Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) was effectively regulated by a Directive 2003/42/EC to each nation to create compatible national regulation. That directive is

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AC-130J Prototype Written-Off After Flight Test LOC-I Overstress

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

AC-130J Prototype Written-Off After Flight Test LOC-I Overstress The prototype US Air Force (USAF) AC-130J Ghostrider, 09-5710, has been declared a total loss after the airframe was “severely overstressed” after a Loss of Control – Inflight (LOC-I) during a flight test from Eglin AFB, Florida on 21 April 2015.  Loss of the aircraft is estimated at $115.6 million. The Occurrence The

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EC155 of a European Operator

CHIRP Critical of an Oil Company’s Commercial Practices

Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

CHIRP Critical of an Oil Company’s Commercial Practices The CHIRP Charitable Trust, who run the UK’s Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP), has highlighted two “of the many” reports received relating to an oil company changing its North Sea helicopter operator for the second time in three years. CHIRP do not name the oil company.

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Micro FOD: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Engine Failure & Forced Landing

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

Micro FOD: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Engine Failure & Forced Landing We often think of FOD, Foreign Object Damage, as something caused by a carelessly discarded piece of waste or forgotten nut or bolt.  The recently issued US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan accident in Hawaii however describes a ‘micro FOD’ accident

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ATP Serious Incident – Temporary LOC In Icing Conditions

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Safety Management

ATP Serious Incident – Temporary LOC In Icing Conditions The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) has issued their report into a serious incident where West Air Sweden BAE Systems ATP cargo aircraft SE-MAF suffered control problems while en route on 25 September 2014.  Coincidentally, their report was issued on the eve of the 21st Anniversary of the Roselawn ATR

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HeliOffshore Progress One Year On

Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Resilience, Safety Management

HeliOffshore Progress One Year On We first reported on the plan to create HeliOffshore in June 2014.  HeliOffshore was formally launched on 21 October 2014 in London and held its first AGM and conference in Lisbon in May 2015.  When membership was opened up beyond helicopter operators in January 2015, Aerossurance is pleased to have been one

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UK CAA PBR Stakeholder Engagement (CAP1345)

News, Regulation, Safety Management

UK CAA Performance Based Regulation (PBR) Stakeholder Engagement (CAP1345) We have previously written about the emerging concept of performance based regulation (PBR) and discussed some of the challenges to overcome. This week the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have issued a consultation document on PBR: CAP1345: Performance Based Regulation: Business Engagement Assessment In the document the CAA

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Misloading Caused Fatal 2013 DHC-3 Otter Accident

Accidents & Incidents, FDM / Data Recorders, Fixed Wing, Safety Management

Misloading Caused Fatal 2013 DHC-3 Otter Accident The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into a fatal accident to Rediske Air de Havilland DHC-3T Otter N93PC in Soldotna, Alaska on 7 July 2013, has determined it was caused by misloading. A passenger iPhone video of the aircraft’s take-off was recovered from the wreckage and analysed.  The full report can be

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EASA annual safety review 2014

EASA Annual Safety Review 2014 Published

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Regulation, Safety Management

EASA Annual Safety Review 2014 Published The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Annual Safety Review for 2014 is now available at: https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/general-publications/annual-safety-review-2014 Worldwide in 2014, 16 fatal accidents involved Commercial Air Transport (CAT) aeroplanes (excluding MH17, that was considered to be a hostile act).  This was two more than 2014, but still significantly below the average number of fatal accidents

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Aircraft Maintenance: Going for Gold?

Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Resilience, Safety Culture, Safety Management

Aircraft Maintenance: Going for Gold? We pose the question: Can aviation maintenance learn lessons from championship athletes?   Aerossurance is pleased to have sponsored the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) conference Human Factors in Engineering – the Next Generation at Cranfield University on 12 May 2015. In his opening address Cranfield University’s Professor Dave King (a former Chief Inspector of Air Accidents with

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Fatal Night-time UK AW139 Accident Highlights Business Aviation Safety Lessons

Accidents & Incidents, Business Aviation, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

Fatal Night-time UK AW139 Accident Highlights Business Aviation Safety Lessons The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published their report into the fatal accident to AgustaWestland AW139 G-LBAL on 13 March 2014.  This accident reinforces many important past lessons on business aviation safety, managing clients, training, human factors and learning from previous accidents. The helicopter, owned by Haughey Air, departed from a

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B747 JNB

BA Changes Briefings, Simulator Training and Chart Provider After B747 Accident

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Safety Management

BA Changes Briefings, Simulator Training and Chart Provider After B747 Accident According to a recently released UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) FACTOR (Follow-up ACTion on Occurrence Report), British Airways (BA) have enhanced their simulator training and changed chart provider in response to a ground accident in South Africa. The Accident On 22 December 2013, BA  G-BNLL sustained substantial

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Misfuelling Accidents

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Business Aviation, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Safety Management

Misfuelling Accidents Misfuelling aircraft with kerosene based Jet A-1 rather than Aviation Gasoline (AVGAS) continues to be a source of accidents. PA31 15 Sept 2015 Manitoba The Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has recently released an update on the 15 September 2015 accident involving twin engined Keystone Air Service Piper PA31-350 Navajo C-FXLO at Thompson, Manitoba.  Shortly after takeoff the aircraft experienced a

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French Skyscraper HESLO: Helicopter Underslung Load

Helicopters, Logistics, Special Mission Aircraft

French Skyscraper HESLO: Helicopter Underslung Load A stunning video, from Bouygues Construction, shows the construction of the the tower on top of the €124 million Incity building in Lyon, the third highest in France.  The last two components of the tower were lifted into place by an Airbus Helicopters AS332C  helicopter on Sunday 21 June 2015 as a Helicopter External Sling Load Operation (HESLO).  The spire,

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