Regulation

Aerossurance Marks RAeS 150th Anniversary by Sponsoring Rotorcraft Automation Conference

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

Aerossurance Marks RAeS 150th Anniversary by Sponsoring Rotorcraft Automation Conference The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) was founded on 12 January 1866, so is today celebrating its 150th anniversary (or sesquicentennial). To mark this significant milestone Aerossurance is pleased to be sponsoring the Society’s 2016 Rotorcraft Conference. This conference, to be held 6-7 July 2016 at the […]

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Helicopter HUMS Maintenance Credit: New Initiatives

Helicopters, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Military / Defence, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation

Helicopter HUMS Maintenance Credit: New Initiatives Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) were first introduced 25 years ago as a safety enhancement for offshore helicopters in the UK and Norway.  Even in the early days of HUMS the prize of ‘maintenance credits’ was envisaged: i.e. using the HUMS data to reduce invasive physical inspections and disassembly (with

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Our Top 20 Articles of 2015

Accidents & Incidents, Business Aviation, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Military / Defence, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft, Survivability / Ditching

Aerossurance: Our Top 20 Articles of 2015 As we start the new year we look back on the 20 articles that proved most popular with our readers in 2015.  In reverse order: Number 20: Building St Helena Airport – An Industrial Scale ‘Grand Design’ This started with the building of the first airport on the volcanic

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UK OHSAG Oct 2015 Minutes

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Resilience, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

UK Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG) October 2015 Minutes The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has just published the minutes of the 16 October 2015 meeting of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG).  This is the third and last of the year (compared to six in 2014), postponed from July 2015. The OHSAG was formed as a result of the ‘Civil

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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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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

UK CAA PBR Stakeholder Engagement (CAP1345) Read Post »

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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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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Critical Maintenance Tasks: EASA Part-M & -145 Change

Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Regulation, Safety Management

Critical Maintenance Tasks: EASA Part -M & -145 Change Commission Regulation (EU)  2015/1536 was issued on of 16 September 2015.  Technically it amends Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 “as regards alignment of rules for continuing airworthiness with the ‘Basic Regulation’ Regulation (EC) No 216/2008“. Critical Maintenance Tasks (CMTs) One of the most important parts of the amendment relates to CMTs, which

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HTAWS Technology: Friend or Foe?

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Regulation, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

HTAWS Technology: Friend or Foe? Technology has great potential to reduce aviation risk.  The European Helicopter Safety Team (EHEST) issued a study in October 2014 on the safety value of technology. Terrain Avoidance and Warning Systems (TAWS) have proved highly effective at fixed wing Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR). On 20 February 2014, the Federal Aviation

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Learrjet Typhoon Mid Air Collision Germany

Mid Air Collision Typhoon & Learjet 35

Accidents & Incidents, Fixed Wing, Human Factors / Performance, Military / Defence, Regulation, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

Mid Air Collision Typhoon & Learjet 35 During ‘Renegade’ air interception training a civilian Learjet 35, D-CGFI, collided with a Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon.  The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) have issued their final report and we attended an excellent briefing by the BFU at the ISASI 2015 conference.  In Germany, as in the UK, air

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Performance Based Regulation and Detecting the Pathogens

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

Performance Based Regulation (PBR) and Detecting the Pathogens At a time when Performance Based Regulation (PBR) is a hot topic in the aviation industry, a series of rail accidents in North America help demonstrate the type of poor performance that PBR must successfully detect.  These accidents were what James Reason, Professor Emeritus, University of Manchester described as ‘organisational accidents’ in his

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Metro-North: Organisational Accidents and Shelfware

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

Metro-North: Organisational Accidents and Shelfware An NTSB study into five accidents on US railway (‘railroad’) Metro-North gives a unique perspective on organisational accidents.  Metro-North was described as having an “invisible safety department”, that kept its SMS on the shelf until external audits and assumed on-time performance would give them safe operations. Organisational Accidents James Reason, Professor Emeritus, University of Manchester popularised the

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Inadequately Secured Cargo Caused B747F Crash at Bagram, Afghanistan

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

Inadequately Secured Cargo Caused B747F Crash at Bagram, Afghanistan The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that a National Airlines Boeing 747 Freighter N949CA that crashed on take-off on 29 April 2013 did so because the five armoured military vehicles (2x12t and 3x18t) on-board were inadequately restrained. As the NTSB explain: These vehicles were considered a special

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UK CAA Helideck Developments

Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

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

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Metro III Low-energy Rejected Landing and CFIT

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

Metro III Low-energy Rejected Landing and CFIT The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has issued a report on a fatal accident to Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III, C-GFWX, operated by Perimeter Aviation at Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, on the coast of Hudson Bay on 22 December 2012. The route from Winnipeg is normally operated by sister company Keewatin Air, but

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Scottish Court Orders Release of Sumburgh Helicopter CVFDR

Accidents & Incidents, FDM / Data Recorders, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

Scottish Court Orders Release of Sumburgh Helicopter CVFDR A Scottish Court has ordered that the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) release the combined Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder (CVFDR) from a fatal 2013 AS332L2 Super Puma offshore helicopter accident at Sumburgh to prosecutors, who will use the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to “provide an expert opinion on

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US Part 5 SMS Progress

Fixed Wing, Regulation, Safety Management

US Part 5 Safety Management System Progress (June 2015) US Part 121 air carriers now have less than 3 months to submit their Part 5 Safety Management System (SMS) implementation plans to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Of course the more proactive US Part 121 operators have already introduced an SMS. After a long rule-making process, the final rule

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H175

UK OHSAG April 2015 Minutes

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Logistics, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Regulation, Resilience, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

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

Accidents & Incidents, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Regulation, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft, Survivability / Ditching

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

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Culture + Non Compliance + Mechanical Failures = DC3 Accident

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

Culture + Non Compliance + Mechanical Failures = DC-3 Accident (Buffalo Airways C-GWIR) The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) recently issued a report on the forced landing of a 1942 Douglas DC-3 C-GWIR after an engine failure on 19 August 2013. The Buffalo Airways aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight between Yellowknife and Hay River

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UK CAA to Review IFR Ops Outside of Controlled Airspace

Accidents & Incidents, Air Traffic Management / Airspace, Business Aviation, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Regulation, Safety Management

UK CAA to Review IFR Ops Outside of Controlled Airspace The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced it plans an enhanced review of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flying outside of controlled airspace.  This is in response to a UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recommendation in their final report on a serious incident involving a chartered executive Sikorsky S-76C++ G-WIWI in

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US HEMS “Delays & Oversight Challenges” – IG Report

Helicopters, Regulation, Safety Management, Special Mission Aircraft

US Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) “Delays & Oversight Challenges” – Inspector General Report We recently published an article on two March 2015 night-time US HEMS accidents.  This month the US Department of Transportation’s Inspector General has released a report entitled: Delays in Meeting Statutory Requirements and Oversight Challenges Reduce FAA’s Opportunities To Enhance HEMS Safety The Office

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Human Factors in Engineering – the Next Generation (12 May 2015)

Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, News, Regulation, Safety Management

Human Factors in Engineering – the Next Generation Aerossurance is pleased to be one of the sponsors of a Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Human Factors Group: Engineering conference on 12 May 2015 at Cranfield University entitled Human Factors in Engineering – the Next Generation: This one day conference aims to bring together industry professionals and a new

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