fredag 21. februar 2014

Helikopter - Britene kikker på Norge og sikkerhet


Dette er mandatory lesing for alle som er involvert i denne særdeles utfordrende form for flyging. En første slik rapport jeg hadde gleden av å være involvert i var i 1982 da CAA påbegynte sin såkalte HARP rapport. Jeg var da med i IFALPAs HEL Study Group som fikk anledning til å kommentere arbeidet etterhvert som det skred frem. Rapporten er referert til flere ganger i det som fremkommer under. Du vil finne 29 anbefalinger og en lang rekke anmerkninger i dette særdeles godt gjenomarbeidede dokumentet. Du vil kjenne igjen mange navn her, både fra LT, SHT, helikopter- og oljeselskapene. Les den i helgen!
 
 

CAP 1145: Civil Aviation Authority – Safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of the exploitation of oil and gas

Please find below details of the CAA Publication you have selected. Dependent on availability, you are able to download the file, or purchase a printed copy. 



Reference:CAP 1145
Title:Civil Aviation Authority – Safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of the exploitation of oil and gas
Description:The CAA has announced a series of measures to increase the safety of offshore helicopter flights. The changes are the result of a comprehensive review of offshore helicopter operations undertaken in conjunction with the Norwegian CAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and advised by a panel of independent experts.
 
Sjekk hele rapporten her: http://tinyurl.com/pxd9sbm

Fra USA kommer disse kommentarene:

UK Unveils Tough Offshore Helicopter RestrictionsThe UK CAA unveiled a series of stringent measures today as a result of a review it launched last September to improve the safety of helicopter operations in the North Sea. These changes are expected to improve survivability after a ditching. Effective June 1, operators will be allowed to carry passengers only in those seats that are next to emergency exit windows. Other seats can be used if “helicopters are fitted with extra flotation devices or passengers are provided with better emergency breathing systems,” the CAA said. Moreover, flights in the most severe sea conditions (above sea state 6) will be prohibited from June 1, so capsizing is less likely. The CAA is expecting helicopter operators to make improvements to helicopters and survival equipment, including fitting automatic flotation equipment, adding hand holds next to push-out windows and improving life rafts and lifejackets. Meanwhile, the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization is expected to improve survival training for offshore workers. The CAA has also announced “important changes to the way pilots are trained.”

New CAA controls ban helicopters from flying in severe North Sea weather

Regulator tightens flight safety rules for offshore helicopters in wake of August 2013 Super Puma tragedy

Tighter safety controls are to be imposed on helicopter flights in the North Sea, including a ban on flying in the most severe weather, after a string of crashes in recent years, the regulator has announced.

Other measures introduced by the Civil Aviation Authority will require enhanced safety equipment such as extra flotation devices for helicopters and emergency breathing systems for passengers.

Until helicopters have been upgraded, passengers will only be able to fly if seated next to an emergency window exit.

The new rules are the result of a comprehensive review of offshore helicopter operations undertaken with the Norwegian regulators and the European Aviation Safety Agency, with a panel of independent experts, conducted in the wake of the August 2013 Super Puma tragedy in which four people died.

The CAA said there would also be important changes to the way pilots are trained and checked, with the regulator also approving each offshore helideck to ensuring safety standards are met. The oil industry will also be expected to give further survival training given to offshore workers.

The CAA's chairwoman, Dame Deirdre Hutton, said: "The safety of those who rely on offshore helicopter flights is our absolute priority. The steps we are announcing today will result in significant improvements in safety for those flying to and from offshore sites in the UK and potentially worldwide.

"We expect helicopter operators, the oil and gas industry and EASA to move forward with recommendations to them as soon as possible. For our part, the CAA is already taking forward actions directly under our control. We will monitor and report regularly on progress, so that people can have confidence that these important changes are being implemented as quickly as possible."

Before last August's accident, helicopters had ditched in the North Sea on four other occasions in three years. In the worst incident, 16 people died in April 2009 when a Super Puma plunged into the sea off Aberdeenshire after its gearbox failed.

Mary Creagh MP, the shadow transport secretary, said the report was "a wake-up call" to the oil and gas industry about the need to improve the safety culture of its helicopter operations in the North Sea.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the pilots union Balpa, said: "The hundreds of dedicated helicopter pilots flying in support of Britain's oil and gas industry and ferrying people to offshore rigs welcome these proposals. The CAA has recognised that independently setting and protecting decent helicopter flight safety standards in the North Sea is more effective than a 'light touch' approach.

"Pilots particularly welcome the ban on flying in adverse conditions and the recommendations on how the chances of surviving an incident can be improved."

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