UK and Norwegian aviation chiefs are to launch a joint review of offshore helicopter safety in the wake of last month’s fatal Super Puma crash off Shetland.
The Civil Aviation Authority said today it was undertaking a review of current and previous operations along with its Norwegian counterpart and the European Aviation Safety Agency.
But news of the review has received a mixed response from the aviation and offshore industries, with calls for a public inquiry once again being sounded.
A panel of independent experts, led by CAA head of flight operations Captain Bob Jones, will advise the groups, which are due to publish their findings early next year.
“The recent accidents have understandably given rise to concerns, particularly with offshore workers who rely so heavily on these helicopter flights,” said CAA safety regulation group director Mark Swan.
“We are absolutely committed to ensuring that operations are as safe as possible. The review we are announcing today will thoroughly examine the risks and hazards of operating in the North Sea and how these can be managed most effectively.”
The review comes in the wake of August’s fatal crash. Duncan Munro, from Bishop Auckland, 57-year-old George Allison from Winchester, Elgin woman Sarah Darnley, 45, and 59-year-old Gary McCrossan from Inverness died after the CHC-operated AS332 L2 they were travelling in from the Borgsten Dolphin crashed into the sea south of Sumburgh.
The crash is the fifth such incident in the last four years.
READ MORE:
Timeline of previous North Sea helicopter accidents
Comment: Don’t reinvent the wheel over helicopter safety
How the latest Super Puma tragedy unfolded
In October 2012, 19 people were rescued when a CHC-operated helicopter ditched between Orkney and Shetland. Five months earlier 14 passengers and two crew members were rescued when their Bond helicopter came down 30 miles off Aberdeen. And in 2009, 16 people were killed when an L2 crashed into the sea 11 miles off Peterhead.
The new review will see Geir Hamre, head of helicopter safety at Norway’s civil aviation authority, and officials from the EASA working alongside the panel.
The CAA said the review, which would be subject to independent specialist scrutiny, would focus on at management, passenger protection, training of pilots and the airworthiness of the helicopter fleet.
It will also compare UK operations with those in Norway, where there have been significantly fewer helicopter accidents in recent years.
Energy industry body Oil and Gas UK welcomed news of the new CAA review.
“Oil & Gas UK welcomes the CAA’s review of offshore helicopter operations in the North Sea and we and our members stand ready to engage fully in the process,” said the groups’ health, safety and employment issues director Robert Paterson.
“As the CAA highlights in its announcement, considerable efforts have already been made by regulators, operators and the offshore industry to minimise the risk of operations so the industry is keen to contribute to a review of the current situation to ensure that the flights taken by its workforce are as safe as possible.
“In addition, we will consider the CAA’s terms of reference with a view to identifying and addressing helicopter operational issues not covered by the CAA safety review.”
Transport union the RMT said it welcomed the investigation, but that it should be in addition to a full inquiry rather than in place of.
“The RMT is also demanding an investigation into North Sea safety which extends beyond just the use of helicopters but which covers every aspect of the offshore working environment,” said general secretary Bob Crow.
“Twenty-five years after Piper Alpha the industry owes its workforce nothing less than that.”
Watch our video of reaction from members of the public to the CAA’s announcement below:
The group charged with monitoring helicopter safety across the North Sea oil and gas industry said its members would play their part in supporting the review.
“Step Change in Safety’s Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) welcomes the announcement that CAA will conduct a review of offshore helicopter operations in the North Sea,” said Step Change in Safety team leader Les Linklater.
“All stakeholders will of course play their part to get the very best possible outcome from the perspective of the continuous improvement of safety.
“Furthermore we will also work to ensure that all the issues being raised by the offshore workforce are considered, including any which may be outside the terms of reference of the CAA enquiry.”
But Pat Rafferty, Scots secretary of union Unite, said the CAA could learn lessons from its Norwegian counterparts following Norway’s aviation industry changes at the turn of the millennium – but warned much more needs to be done.
“It’s getting more and more difficult to take the industry seriously over its approach to safety reform,” he said.
“Already Super Puma L2 types are starting to return to commercial service in the North Sea and they do so without any changes to capacity, configuration or changes to life-saving contingency plans – this is unacceptable.
“If Oil & Gas UK and key stakeholders, including the CAA, are serious about reforming offshore health and safety then they must meaningfully engage with the industry’s workers – it’s most important resource.
“This is the only way the industry can begin to restore the shattered confidence of the workforce and help ensure that in future all workers get back home safe from the North Sea.”
Pilots association Balpa said it would consult with its North Sea members, but described the review as ‘too little, too late’
“Firstly, the CAA has not shown itself adept at getting below the surface of industry, the real life experience of pilots and understanding the human factors that drive safety,” the organisation said.
“Nothing in today’s announcement gives us confidence that this has changed.
“Secondly, we believe a review needs to look at the totality of the commercial cut throat business that is the North Sea, and not just the helicopter operation. In short, just how high in the pecking order does safety really sit for an incentivised contract manager?”
“Finally, we believe any review must look at the role of the regulator in this lengthening trend of accidents. We are, for instance, concerned that there does not appear to have been any pre-existing comparison of accident rates being maintained despite a series of accidents. In the light of this we just do not think it credible to expect the regulator to review itself.
“We have called on the Government to set up a judicial-led independent review along the lines of the post-Piper Alpha inquiry led by Lord Cullen. Today’s announcement by the CAA does not do it for us.”
Earlier this month the government’s transport select committee announced it would be carrying out its own investigation into improving offshore helicopter safety.
The Air Accident Investigation Bureau is still investigating the Shetland crash, although no evidence of a casual technical failure has been found.
