Helicopter lands on wrong North Sea platform - AAIB investigation
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:28 pm
Catching up after a week away from the forum...
Lots of safety implications here. Was the platform venting flammable gas - not healthy if you fly through it! Was a crane operating - awkward if it swings into the rotors whilst you are landing. Is there a Radhaz issue on board at that time - not good if a helicopter arrives belting out radar pulses until short final. Is there another helicopter on deck with its anti-collision lights off whilst loading/unloading/refuelling - sounds impossible but I'm aware of one occasion in poor weather where that kind of accident almost happened.
Bristow helicopter lands on wrong offshore platform
There are those that have done it, those that will do it and those who have nearly done it. I'm not quite in the latter category. Back in the early 80's when we had VLF/Omega as our nav aid offshore it was quite usual for your position to be at least a mile out when you arrived in the destination area.
On this particular day there were four semi-submersible rigs all within a small area. I approached one to identify it before calling for deck clearance, only to be tapped on the shoulder by a grinning pax who pointed over to the correct destination. It wasn't the only time that VLF/Omega caused a destination query - not helped by the fact that rig NDB frequency allocation was limited and it was quite usual for all rigs/platforms in an offshore field to have the same frequency. They should only be turned on when expecting a helicopter but sod's law said someone wouldn't turn theirs off and woe betide you if you didn't listen very carefully to the ident as even those could be very similar.
The solution to wrong deck landings? Red/green deck edge lights. Helo requests deck clearance, HLO switches deck lights to green. When helo departs HLO switches deck edge lights to red. Simple. I think it was 1985 when I suggested that at a meeting with our clients. Others have said the same since.
As far as I am aware it has never happened as it would cost the clients money. Safety should have no cost barrier.
Lots of safety implications here. Was the platform venting flammable gas - not healthy if you fly through it! Was a crane operating - awkward if it swings into the rotors whilst you are landing. Is there a Radhaz issue on board at that time - not good if a helicopter arrives belting out radar pulses until short final. Is there another helicopter on deck with its anti-collision lights off whilst loading/unloading/refuelling - sounds impossible but I'm aware of one occasion in poor weather where that kind of accident almost happened.
Bristow helicopter lands on wrong offshore platform
There are those that have done it, those that will do it and those who have nearly done it. I'm not quite in the latter category. Back in the early 80's when we had VLF/Omega as our nav aid offshore it was quite usual for your position to be at least a mile out when you arrived in the destination area.
On this particular day there were four semi-submersible rigs all within a small area. I approached one to identify it before calling for deck clearance, only to be tapped on the shoulder by a grinning pax who pointed over to the correct destination. It wasn't the only time that VLF/Omega caused a destination query - not helped by the fact that rig NDB frequency allocation was limited and it was quite usual for all rigs/platforms in an offshore field to have the same frequency. They should only be turned on when expecting a helicopter but sod's law said someone wouldn't turn theirs off and woe betide you if you didn't listen very carefully to the ident as even those could be very similar.
The solution to wrong deck landings? Red/green deck edge lights. Helo requests deck clearance, HLO switches deck lights to green. When helo departs HLO switches deck edge lights to red. Simple. I think it was 1985 when I suggested that at a meeting with our clients. Others have said the same since.
As far as I am aware it has never happened as it would cost the clients money. Safety should have no cost barrier.