Safety Management

SMS

UK Military Aviation Authority

Aerossurance Wins MAA HUMS Maintenance Credit Contract

Design & Certification, Helicopters, HUMS / VHM / UMS / IVHM, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management

HUMS Maintenance Credit Contract Awarded to Aerossurance by the Military Aviation Authority Aberdeen based aviation consultancy Aerossurance has won a competitively tendered contract for a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) maintenance credit project from the UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA). Part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the MAA is an independent and autonomous organization responsible for the

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North Sea Offshore Standardised Clothing Policy

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

North Sea Offshore Standardised Clothing Policy As anticipated previously by Aerossurance, a new standardised clothing policy is being introduced for helicopter travel to offshore installations in UK waters.  It defines what should and should not be worn under survival suits. The policy is effective from Wednesday, 1st October 2014, in-line with the changeover to the winter season. UPDATE

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Site of the G-CRST helicopter accident

Fatal Helicopter / Crane Collision – London Jan 2013

Accidents & Incidents, Air Traffic Management / Airspace, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Business Aviation, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Regulation, Safety Culture, Safety Management

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)

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GM Ignition Switch Debacle – Safety Lessons

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Human Factors / Performance, News, Safety Culture, Safety Management

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

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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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Business Jet Collides With ‘Uncharted’ Obstacle During Go-Around

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

Business Jet Collides With ‘Uncharted’ Obstacle During Go-Around Five people died when a business jet collided with what the NTSB originally stated was an un-charted 72 ft concrete powerline pole, built 0.25 miles from the departure end of the runway, during a nighttime go-around. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have issued a factual update

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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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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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House of Lords Inquiry into Civil RPAS

Design & Certification, News, Regulation, Safety Management, Unmanned (Drone / RPAS / UAS / UAV)

RPAS (or Unmanned Air Vehicle / Systems [UAV/UAS]) are a hot topic internationally at the moment.  The House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, is to hold an inquiry into the civil use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in the European Union. Written evidence is sought by Friday 19 September 2014.

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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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Alaska B1900C Accident – Contributory ATC Errors

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

Alaska B1900C Accident – Contributory ATC Errors The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified contributory ATC errors when they issued their probable cause of a fatal Beechcraft B1900C Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accident in instrument meteorological conditions at Aleknagik, Alaska on 8 March 2013.  The aircraft, N116AX, was operated by Alaska Central Express (Ace) Air Cargo.

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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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FAA

FAA Impose Fines After Maintenance Errors – Just Culture?

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, News, Regulation, Safety Management

FAA Impose Fines After Maintenance Errors – Just Culture? The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have proposed fining two helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operators and one airline a total of $12.4 million for allegedly operating non-compliant aircraft after various maintenance errors.  However does this encourage a just, open reporting culture? The Cases In each case it should be

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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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EASA Launch Rule Making Team on In-flight Recording for Light Aircraft

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, FDM / Data Recorders, Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Regulation, Safety Management

EASA Launch Rule Making Team on In-flight Recording for Light Aircraft The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has launched a Rule Making Team (RMT.0271 & 0272 [MDM.073 (a) & (b)]) on in-flight recording for light aircraft. The Terms of Reference (ToR) and Group Composition (GC) are here.  By way of definition the ToRs state: …‘in-flight

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