Survivability / Ditching

New Helicopter Survival Suits in Canada

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

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 »

NTSB Report on Bizarre 2012 US S-76B Ditching

Accidents & Incidents, Airfields / Heliports / Helidecks, Business Aviation, Helicopters, Human Factors / Performance, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Safety Culture, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

An overweight helicopter, flown with a known defect, ditched during a poorly executed approach to a GOM drilling rig, then water taxying was attempted…

NTSB Report on Bizarre 2012 US S-76B Ditching Read Post »

Further Category A EBS Approved

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

Further Category A EBS Approved More Category A Compressed Air – Emergency Breather System (CA-EBS) options are now approved against the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) standard in CAP1034.  These approvals are under the accessory approval requirements of British Civil Airworthiness Requirements (BCAR) A4-8. Category A EBS was a recommendation from the CAA Review, which resulted in

Further Category A EBS Approved Read Post »

Helicopter Ditching – EASA Rule Making Task RMT.0120 Update (NPA 2016-01)

Accidents & Incidents, Helicopters, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Resilience, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Helicopter Ditching – EASA Rule Making Task RMT.0120 Update (NPA 2016-01 Helicopter ditching and water impact occupant survivability) The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave an update at their 8th Rotorcraft Symposium on the rule making task (RMT.0120) looking at helicopter ditching requirements.  The paper is downloadable as part of a large zip file for the whole symposium

Helicopter Ditching – EASA Rule Making Task RMT.0120 Update (NPA 2016-01) Read Post »

UK OHSAG Oct 2014 Minutes

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

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 »

Passive Fire-Retarding Helideck Designs

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

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 »

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

North Sea Offshore Standardised Clothing Policy Read Post »

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

Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group & OGUK Helicopter Briefing Read Post »

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. 

Helicopter Ditching Limitations Read Post »

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

Obituary: Offshore Survival Pioneer Dr Joe Cross OBE Read Post »

19 July 1989: Sioux City

Accidents & Incidents, Crises / Emergency Response / SAR, Design & Certification, Fixed Wing, Maintenance / Continuing Airworthiness / CAMOs, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

19 July 1989: Sioux City On 19 July 1989, United Airlines Flight 232, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 N1819U, en-route from Denver to Chicago, suffered an uncontained failure of the number 2 General Electric CF6 engine’s fan disc.  This resulted in crippling damage to the aircraft’s hydraulics and flight controls. The crew under Captain Al Haynes managed to control the

19 July 1989: Sioux City Read Post »

Hong Kong Harbour AW139 Ditching – HKCAD Report Issued

Accidents & Incidents, Design & Certification, Offshore, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Hong Kong Harbour AW139 Ditching – HKCAD Report Issued The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (HKCAD) have issued their report into the ditching of  AgustaWestland AW139, B-MHJ, operated by Macau based East Asia Airlines Limited (trading as SkyShuttle), in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour on 3 July 2010. From the synopsis: The helicopter took off from Sheung

Hong Kong Harbour AW139 Ditching – HKCAD Report Issued Read Post »

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

House of Commons Transport Committee Offshore Helicopter Safety Report Read Post »

Military Mid Air Collisions

Accidents & Incidents, Air Traffic Management / Airspace, Fixed Wing, Military / Defence, News, Safety Management, Survivability / Ditching

Military Mid Air Collisions One recent accident in Germany and the release of a Service Inquiry into a UK Mid Air Collision (MAC) highlight the importance of managing MAC risk. The UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA) consider MAC to be one of the highest risk hazards in military aviation (as discussed in para 5a of their

Military Mid Air Collisions Read Post »

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,

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

Unfit for Flight or Unfit for Publication?

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

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 »

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

Size Isn’t Everything Read Post »

Rapid Progress with a Category A EBS

Design & Certification, Helicopters, Logistics, News, Offshore, Oil & Gas / IOGP / Energy, Survivability / Ditching

Rapid Progress with a Category A EBS One of the most urgent initiatives currently underway in UK offshore helicopter safety is the introduction of Category A Emergency Breathing Systems (EBS).  Progress was discussed at Oil & Gas UK’s annual aviation seminar in Aberdeen on 4 June 2014. Oil & Gas UK is the organisation that represents the entire UK offshore industry. 

Rapid Progress with a Category A EBS Read Post »

Scroll to Top