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Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group & OGUK Helicopter Briefing

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Design & Certification, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

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 […]

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NTSB Recommendations on Offshore Methane Gas Venting

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

NTSB Recommendations on Offshore Methane Gas Venting The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have issued a series of recommendations following two accidents were single engined offshore helicopters ditched after the suspected ingestion of vented methane gas caused a full or partial engine power loss near an offshore platform. Vented combustible gas can cause surging, a compressor

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UK Airborne Anti-Pollution Assets

Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Special Mission Aircraft

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

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Bristow Invests £3.2mn in Tool Control

Helicopters, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management

Bristow Invests £3.2mn in Tool Control Energy Voice reports that Bristow Group has introduced the latest Snap-on Industrial Automated Tool Control (ATC) system to its maintenance operations as part of the company’s commitment to safety by reducing the risk of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) being introduced during maintenance. Jeremy Cresswell reports: The ATC Box is fitted with

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Wrong Deck Landings

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

Wrong Deck Landings Occasionally, offshore helicopters do land on the wrong offshore installation.  On 26 August 2014 the media picked up an such an event that occurred a few days earlier involving a Sikorsky S-92A. So is it a big deal?  Well, yes and no! There are good reasons to avoid landing on a deck that is

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Volcanic Ash…Déjà Vu All Over Again??

Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Logistics, Military / Defence, Mining / Resource Sector, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Resilience, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

On 18 August 2014 the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) upgraded the aviation colour code for the Baroarbunga volcano to ‘Orange’ which means that, ‘The volcano shows heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption’. UPDATE: On 23 August 2014, the morning after this article was published, it was raised to ‘Red’ (‘Eruption is forecast to

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Commanders: Flying or Monitoring?

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Management

Commanders: Flying or Monitoring? At a recent Royal Aeronautical Society Conference, one of the speakers, Colin Milne of BALPA, highlighted that in a number of past UK large helicopter accidents involving Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) or Loss of Control (LOC) the Commander was the Pilot Flying rather than the Pilot Monitoring. While there are circumstances where this

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Helicopter Ditching Limitations

Helicopters, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Helicopter Ditching Limitations The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is proposing introducing Emergency Floatation System ditching limitations into Rotorcraft Flight Manuals (RFMs) and that these are then a limitation for operations.   This is in broad alignment with a UK CAA Safety Directive effective 1 September 2014. On 30 May 2014 EASA issued a Proposed Airworthiness Directive (PAD) for public comment. 

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Obituary: Offshore Survival Pioneer Dr Joe Cross OBE

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

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

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EASA Launch Helicopter Gearbox Lubrication Rule Making

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

 EASA Launch Helicopter Gearbox Lubrication Rule Making The first meeting was held last week of a new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Rule Making Team (RMT.0608) on helicopter gearbox lubrication.  The Terms of Reference (ToR) and Group Composition (GC) are here. This activity follows European/US/Canadian dialogue after the loss of Cougar Sikorsky S-92A C-GZCH Flight 491 off Newfoundland,

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OGP Safety Performance Indicators 2013

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management

UPDATE: This article has been reviewed and updated since the publication of OGP’s V1.1 reports adding details that our first edition highlighted were missing. Follow us on LinkedIn for our latest updates.   The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) has published their annual safety performance review.  Earlier 2012 data is here. The OGP members

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Technology Friend or Foe – Automation in Offshore Helicopter Operations

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

Technology Friend or Foe – Automation in Offshore Helicopter Operations In London 3-4 July 2014 the Royal Aeronautical Society held a landmark conference on the introduction of automation to offshore helicopters titled:  Technology: Friend or Foe? This RAeS conference was triggered by: a CFIT accident on approach to Sumburgh airport in August 2013 (AS332L2 G-WNSB), the issue, a few

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AW189 Progress

Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy

AW189 Progress Bristow expect to commence revenue flying in Norwich with the AgustaWestland  AW189 during July 2014 according to Bristow VP Operations and Managing Director of Bristow Helicopters Limited, Mike Imlach, quoted by Aviation Week & Space Technology. UPDATE: Later on the 17 July 2014, Bristow issued the following press statement: Bristow announced today that it has

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AW139 Global Fleet Passes 1 Million Hour Milestone

Helicopters, Logistics, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy

AW139 Global Fleet Passes 1 Million Hour Milestone AgustaWestland has announced that its popular medium helicopter, the AW139, has now  achieved 1 million hours of service experience since it entered service in 2003. The AW139 fleet leader has now flown more than 9,300 hours, so another milestone is likely to be passed this autumn. AW reports that 650

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House of Commons Transport Committee Offshore Helicopter Safety Report

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

The published at 00.01 am on Tuesday 8 July 2014. In its conclusions the committee say: Helicopter transfer across the North Sea has inherent risks but remains the most practical mode of transport for the offshore oil and gas industry. Five accidents since 2009 have led to a loss of confidence from the offshore work

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Increasing SAR Use by the Oil & Gas Industry

Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Resilience, Safety Management

Increasing SAR Use by the Oil & Gas Industry The oil and gas industry is increasingly contracting commercial Search & Rescue (SAR) helicopters to support offshore exploration work and support offshore safety cases. For example, commercial operator Bristow has provided a SAR service in the UK since 1971 (for both government and oil and gas customers) that

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OPITO Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS) Initial Deployment Training Standard

Helicopters, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

OPITO Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS) Initial Deployment Training Standard OPITO has issued a standard for Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS) Initial Deployment Training, to support the initial introduction of Category A Emergency Breathing System (EBS) following the a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Review, which resulted in the CAP1145 report. To successfully complete this 1.5 hour ‘dry’ training,

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Planning for Mass Evacuations

Fixed Wing, Logistics, Mining / Resource Sector, News, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Resilience, Safety Management

Planning for Mass Evacuations A wave of mass evacuations of foreign workers from Iraq is a timely reminder of the importance of having pre-arranged evacuation arrangements in place for companies operating in the less stable of overseas locations. Similar evacuations have occurred  in a range of other countries in recent years, particularly in the Middle

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Oil & Gas UK News: Health & Safety and Supply Chain CoP

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Management

Trade body Oil & Gas UK have released two new reports. The first is the annual Oil & Gas UK Health and Safety Report 2014 which covers: A detailed summary of the UK offshore oil and gas industry’s safety performance An overview of the safety-related projects being carried out across the industry An explanation of how the

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Size Isn’t Everything

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

Size Isn’t Everything The day after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) CAP1145 report on North Sea helicopter safety was published, the Aberdeen Press & Journal focused on one controversial action with the front page headline ‘If you are too fat you won’t fly’! But when it comes to escaping from a submerged helicopter through the push

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