“If the sea state is too rough for a successful emergency ditching, then a helicopter shouldn’t be operating, period,” TSB’s Wendy Tadros said at a press conference in St. John’s Wednesday afternoon.
On Friday, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said Newfoundland’s three offshore oil operators — Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose — would adopt the TSB’s recommendation.
Posts Tagged ‘crash’
Newfoundland operators to halt flights when seas are rough
Posted in accidents, tagged Canada, crash, helicopters, Newfoundland, offshore oil, safety on February 14, 2011| 1 Comment »
Canadian TSB releases helicopter crash report
Posted in accidents, tagged Canada, crash, helicopters, Newfoundland, offshore oil, safety on February 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Area map with helicopter track and impact position
BOE’s Cheryl Anderson has been tracking this story. Click here for the full TSB report.
Occurrence Summary:
On 12 March 2009 a Cougar Helicopters’ Sikorsky S-92A on a flight to the Hibernia oil production platform had a total loss of oil in the transmission’s main gear box. The flight crew descended to 800 feet and headed towards St. John’s. Approximately 35 nautical miles from St. John’s, during an attempted ditching, the helicopter struck the water in a high rate of descent. One passenger survived with serious injuries and the other seventeen occupants of the helicopter died of drowning.
Safety Issues
- Category A rotorcraft certified under the “extremely remote” criteria may not be capable of continued operation for 30 minutes with only residual main gear box lubrication.
- Given today’s operating environments, it may now be technically feasible and economically justifiable to produce a helicopter that can operate in excess of 30 minutes following a massive loss of main gear box lubricant.
- Helicopter crews and passengers in Canada remain at risk where helicopters are operated over sea states exceeding the capability of their Emergency Flotation Systems.
- Without a supplemental breathing system, occupants have very little time to egress from a submerged or capsized helicopter before breaking their breath-holds in cold water.
TSB Recommendations
- The Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency remove the “extremely remote” provision from the rule requiring 30 minutes of safe operation following the loss of main gearbox lubricant for all newly constructed Category A transport helicopters and, after a phase-in period, for all existing ones.
- The Federal Aviation Administration assess the adequacy of the 30 minute main gearbox run dry requirement for Category A transport helicopters.
- Transport Canada prohibit commercial operation of Category A transport helicopters over water when the sea state will not permit safe ditching and successful evacuation.
- Transport Canada require that supplemental underwater breathing apparatus be mandatory for all occupants of helicopters involved in overwater flights who are required to wear a Passenger Transportation Suit System.
Canadian Helicopter Crash Report to be Released on Wednesday
Posted in accidents, tagged Canada, crash, helicopters, Newfoundland, offshore oil on February 7, 2011| 1 Comment »
The Canadian Transportation Safety Board’s report on the March 2009 helicopter crash that killed 17 workers offshore Newfoundland will be released on 9 February. This CTV piece provides a good summary of some of the significant issues that have surfaced in the press including:
Pre-crash warnings:
A Canadian investigator who red flagged main gearbox problems months before a Sikorsky helicopter crashed off Newfoundland says he’ll closely read a federal report on what caused the deadly accident.
Criticism of the FAA for their failure to respond:
He forwarded his results to the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. agency that originally certified the aircraft, saying he hoped to hear what a deeper probe would find.
FAA says “Not My Job:”
Les Dorr said the agency didn’t send any follow up research it did to Yearwood because it wasn’t under any obligation to do so under international agreements.
Transport Canada says “Not My Job” and points the finger at FAA:
Maryse Durette, a spokeswoman for the agency, says in an email the matter was the FAA’s responsibility and Transport Canada would wait for the original certifier to make recommendations before acting.
While the data suggest that the risk to offshore workers may be greatest when they are travelling to and from a facility, this investigation has received very little attention outside of Canada. That is unfortunate.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 