Fatal $16 Million Maintenance Errors (Sundance Helicopters AS350B2 N37SH) A jury in Las Vegas awarded $16 million to the families of 4 passengers killed in a December 2011 helicopter sightseeing accident, caused by a series of maintenance errors. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made safety recommendations on maintenance human factors and fatigue after this accident. The […]
Fatal $16 Million Maintenance Errors 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 »
Effective safety promotion is an essential part of a Safety Management System (SMS) and a critical tool to influence an organisation’s safety culture. However safety promotion is an often neglected and misunderstood skill.
Mastering the Message: Transform Your Safety Communication Read Post »
Fatal Helicopter / Crane Collision – London Jan 2013 While manoeuvring over the River Thames, an AgustaWestland A109E helicopter, G-CRST, operated by charter company Rotormotion, collided at 700ft amsl with a crane in Vauxhall, Central London. The crane was atop the 50 storey St George Wharf Tower. The helicopter pilot and a passer-by died. The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB)
Fatal Helicopter / Crane Collision – London Jan 2013 Read Post »
GM Ignition Switch Debacle – Safety Lessons General Motors has faced intense criticism, large fines, on-going court cases and big rectification costs after mishandling a dangerous design fault in millions of vehicles. So are there safety lessons for other organisations? Aerossurance thinks so. Some have commented that this is a case of corporate complacency while others, similar to Edward
GM Ignition Switch Debacle – Safety Lessons 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 »
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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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,
EASA Launch Helicopter Gearbox Lubrication Rule Making Read Post »
Living Near Zero – New Challenges for Air Safety Between 17 July 2014 and 24 July 2014 the aviation industry has been rocked by three loses of commercial passenger aircraft and 462 lives: 17 July 2014 Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER 9M-MRD (flight MH17) overflying Ukraine after what appears to have been a surface to air missile attack (see Aviation
Living Near Zero – New Challenges for Air Safety Read Post »
A Canadian R44 breaks up in flight after erratic flying by an inebriated pilot. An unusual accident with important lessons on pilot supervision, flight following and emergency location.
R44 Oil & Gas Accident – Alcohol, Flight Following, ELTs Read Post »
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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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
House of Commons Transport Committee Offshore Helicopter Safety Report Read Post »
Sir Robert Francis QC is to chair an independent review into creating an open and honest reporting culture in the National Health Service (NHS). It has been announced that the review will: …provide independent advice and recommendations to ensure that: NHS workers can raise concerns in the public interest with confidence that they will not
‘Freedom to speak up?’ in the NHS: independent review Read Post »
There are a host of human factors, automation, crashworthiness, survivability and emergency response lessons from this 2013 accident.
Asiana B777 Accident at SFO 6 July 2013 Read Post »
Misjudgement during abrupt helicopter manoeuvring (AS350B3 LN-OVO) The Accident Investigation Board Norway (the Statens Havarikommisjon for Transport) has issued its report into an accident that occurred to Airbus Helicopters AS350B3, LN-OVO, operated by Fonnafly AS, on 27 April 2013. Their report is in Norwegian only. The helicopter was being used to transport personnel participating in the Røldal
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737 Descent below Instrument Approach Minima – HF Lessons Human factors are discussed in the report into an incident in New Zealand. Using the autopilot, the aircraft descended on the glideslope but at decision height (200 feet Above Ground Level) the aircraft was still in cloud and the runway or approach lights were not visible. The
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Unfit for Flight or Unfit for Publication? This week US newspaper USA Today has featured a 3 part ‘exposé’ on general aviation and its safety record by Tom Frank that claimed ‘Lies and coverups mask roots of small-aircraft crashes’: Unfit for Flight: Hidden defects linked to small-aircraft crashes over five decades Unchecked carnage: NTSB probes don’t
Unfit for Flight or Unfit for Publication? Read Post »
The NTSB discusses the response of the New Mexico State Police to their fatal mountain SAR air accident in 2009.
NTSB: “Going Above and Beyond in Helicopter Safety” Read Post »
