Helicopter operators in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea have reacted sceptically to actions and recommendations in the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s recently-published safety study of the UK sector, believing that some of them may have negative implications for safety. Several companies, such as CHC and Bristow, operate in both sectors.
Speaking at the 8-9 April Flyoperativt Forum in Oslo, Norwegian helicopter operators commented that the decision to improve ditching survivability by reducing helicopter passenger capacity – through outlawing the use of the centre cabin seats – will force more intensive use of the existing fleet, longer duty hours and more flying at night.
The alternative to capacity reduction the CAA offered was for the centre-seat passengers to be given portable breathing equipment – but no approved systems yet exist. A more general comment was that the CAA, which published 32 actions and 29 recommendations in the study, was concentrating on hard measures at the expense of human factors.
The CAA report also proposes to ban flying when the sea state is worse than category 6, because of the increased risk if a forced ditching has to be made.
The Norwegian reaction is to ask how much of the journey has to be sea state 6 or less before a dispatch decision can be made. Operators also repeat the charge that restrictions like this put greater pressure on the existing fleet to operate long hours.
Source: Flight International
