UK CAA Helideck Developments The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are considering changing how offshore helidecks are approved and assessing the fire-fighting provision on Normally Unattended Installations (NUIs). The former activity is subject to a public consultation and that latter is being examined by a Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG) working group. Helideck Qualified […]
UK CAA Helideck Developments Read Post »
Firefighters Turn Hose on Drone With the continued popularity and sales of camera equipped ‘drones’* it was probably inevitable that this would happen, but one drone operator John Thompson got more than he bargained for while filming a house fire on 4 June 2015 in the US. The firemen turned the hose on the drone… The ‘attack’ happens
Firefighters Turn Hose on Drone Read Post »
UK Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG) April 2015 Minutes The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has just published the minutes of the 28 April 2015 meeting of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG), the second of the year. The OHSAG was formed as a result of the ‘Civil Aviation Authority Safety Review of Offshore Public Transport Helicopter Operations in
UK OHSAG April 2015 Minutes Read Post »
Antarctic Helicopter Accidents The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has just issued a report into an accident involving an Airbus Helicopters AS350B2 VH-HRQ of Helicopter Resources, supporting polar exploration in Antarctica on 1 December 2013. We look at that and also Antarctic accidents involving 1 French and 3 German helicopters. Australian Accident – History of the Flight The helicopter was
Antarctic Helicopter Accidents Read Post »
Helideck, Helicopter and Other Specialist Training Facilities Safety training specialists Falck Nutec (now RelyOn Nutec) have installed an ex-Royal Navy AgustaWestland Lynx HAS3 at their Aberdeen training facility on their helideck training mock-up. This aids the training of Helideck Landing Officers (HLOs) and Helideck Assistants (HDAs) on their OPITIO approved training courses. This replaced a rather more
Helideck, Helicopter and Other Specialist Training Facilities Read Post »
1950’s Aerial Firefighting and Smokey Bear A look at aerial firefighting 60+ years ago: However, as per the background poster: If you really feel the need to sing along to Smokey Bear we are happy to oblige: https://youtu.be/sfgWbhPYFGI But while in the song it is Smokey THE Bear (to scan better), the Smokey Bear Act of 1952 (16 U.S.C.
1950’s Aerial Firefighting and Smokey Bear Read Post »
UK Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG) Jan 2015 Minutes The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has just published the minutes of the latest, 27 Jan 2015, meeting of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG). The OHSAG was formed as a result of the ‘Civil Aviation Authority Safety Review of Offshore Public Transport Helicopter Operations in Support of
UK OHSAG Jan 2015 Minutes Read Post »
In 2003 a HEMS A109K2 helicopter was lost in a fatal accident in Salt Lake City, UT in poor weather.
Life Flight 6 – US HEMS Accident Read Post »
Dramatic Malaysian S-76C 2013 Ditching Video Dramatic passenger-shot video footage of a helicopter ditching and rescue off Malaysia has emerged: The Sikorsky S-76C 9M-STE (MSN 760398) of MHS Aviation, chartered by Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas, was on approach to a 3D seismic ship in the South China Sea on 12 December 2013. The 105m long, 9800GRT vessel
Dramatic Malaysian S-76C 2013 Ditching Video Read Post »
New Helicopter Survival Suits in Canada Survitec Group design engineer Alice Cannon presented to SAFE Europe symposium in Bristol in March 2014 on the company’s development of a new helicopter passenger survival suit for use in Canada. In November 2014, Gaelle Halliday of oil company Husky Energy presented more information at the first safety conference of the Canada-Newfoundland
New Helicopter Survival Suits in Canada Read Post »
James Reason’s 12 Principles of Error Management James Reason, Professor Emeritus, University of Manchester, set out 12 systemic human factors centric principles of error management in his book Managing Maintenance Error: A Practical Guide (co-written with Alan Hobbs and published in 2003). These principles are valid beyond aviation maintenance and are well worth re-visiting: Human error is both universal
James Reason’s 12 Principles of Error Management Read Post »
Psychology of Responsibility Aerossurance recently discussed research cited in Yes! 50 secrets from the Science of Persuasion, written by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini, on whether organisations are considered more or less responsible for incidents depending on whether the cause was technical or human failure. In the same book they also discuss research on the reaction to how adverse
Psychology of Responsibility Read Post »
UK Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG) Oct 2014 Minutes The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published the minutes of the latest, 28 Oct 2014, meeting of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG). The OHSAG was formed as a result of the ‘Civil Aviation Authority Safety Review of Offshore Public Transport Helicopter Operations in Support of
UK OHSAG Oct 2014 Minutes Read Post »
Research shows that rushing to blame your own employees might not only increase the risk you’ll fail to prevent future accidents but tends to turn public opinion against you too.
Psychology of Blame Read Post »
We look at 10 lessons on the early warning of crises
Disasters and Crises – 10 Lessons on Early Warning Read Post »
After a major accident, as well as an immediate emergency response, there is often a need to deal with a crisis that could threaten the organisation.
Crises – Failure of Conventional Responses Read Post »
Passive Fire-Retarding Helideck Designs A number of helideck manufacturers offer aluminium helideck designs with a passive fire-retarding capability. Typically this is achieved by draining fuel through holes in the deck surface, into cavities filled with aluminium mesh. This starves the fire of oxygen and dissipates heat, extinguishing the flames and draining away unburnt fuel for
Passive Fire-Retarding Helideck Designs Read Post »
Medevac Misadventure – Inquest in the Yukon The Coroner for Canada’s Yukon Territory has recommended a review of procedures for medical evacuations (medevacs) following the death on board an air ambulance of a 31 year-old woman from Carmacks in November 2013, CBC has reported. In particular the wrong IV tubing was taken on the aircraft as different
Medevac Misadventure – Inquest in the Yukon Read Post »
Catastrophe in the Congo – The Company That Lost its Board of Directors When you charter aircraft for business purposes, any fatal air accident can leave a terrible scar on your company as well as on the friends and family of the people who die. In 2010 a small Australian mining company suffered a particularly catastrophic air accident,
Catastrophe in the Congo – The Company That Lost its Board of Directors Read Post »
Spectacular images of DC-10 fire fighting.
DC-10 Air Tanker Retardant Drop Read Post »
Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG) The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published the minutes of the latest, 14 August 2014, meeting of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG). The OHSAG was formed as a result of the ‘Civil Aviation Authority Safety Review of Offshore Public Transport Helicopter Operations in Support of the Exploitation of Oil
Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group & OGUK Helicopter Briefing Read Post »
UK Airborne Anti-Pollution Assets The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency issued this video in 2011 on their anti-pollution airborne dispersant spraying and surveillance assets. The video describes their two sesnor equipped surveillance aircraft. It goes onto show their airborne dispersant spray capability being demonstrated in Lyme Bay, using both a small Cessna Caravan II and a Lockheed
UK Airborne Anti-Pollution Assets Read Post »
In 2014 Leonardo gained EASA certification of a new laser based obstacle warning system to help protect helicopters from rotor strikes.
Leonardo Helicopter Obstacle Proximity LIDAR System (OPLS) Read Post »
A pioneer in offshore survival, Dr Joe Cross OBE, died in Aberdeenshire on 27 July 2014. Dr Cross started as a naval safety equipment fitter in 1953 before rising to be a commissioned Royal Navy Officer. However it was in 1975 that he became Managing Director of the Robert Gordon’s Institute of Technology (RGIT) Survival Centre in Aberdeen. RGIT (the forerunner
Obituary: Offshore Survival Pioneer Dr Joe Cross OBE Read Post »
A minor landing gear incident on a CHC Sikorsky S-92A at Aberdeen Airport in Scotland has attracted press interest.
S-92A Nose Landing Gear Incident – Aberdeen 29 July 2014 Read Post »
