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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2243.PDF
Helicopter safety MONITORING Getting the HOMP the fewest. Many visitors appear not to have noticed that there is more than one page of options. But on the first page, most hits go to the poster providing information on how to guard against "unanticipated yaw" - loss of or reduction in tail rotor effectiveness. Website hitlist That is also the top scorer among all the poster designs, no matter which page they are on. Second in the hitlist is techniques for autorotation and how to survive train ing in that awkward exercise. The fewest hits on the front page is for the poster that announces "Accidents are bad for busi ness". However true the latter may be, the truth that the pilot who saves his/her own life will save those of the passengers appears to rule the day. High scores on subsequent pages go to posters encouraging pilots to keep their air craft and themselves within their respec tive operating limitations, obstacle avoid ance close to the ground, and passenger and staff safety on the ramp. • Safety is better in multi-than single- turbine- powered helicopters, but not by much (see bar chart) The UK Civil Aviation Authority fin ished its original Helicopter Operations Monitoring Programme (HOMP) trial in late 2001. As a result of its success, the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) com mitted its members to fund the system's implementation on all flight data recorder (FDR)-equipped UK public transport helicopters operating over the Continental Shelf. Bristow Helicopters (BHL) now operates HOMP on all its North Sea fleet. The CAA has since funded a follow-on programme bringing HOMP to a sec- i:mWi]^<^r¥ ond UK operator, CHC Scotia - now CHC Europe, and to a second heli copter type, BHL's Sikorsky S-76. This allows for HOMP development and refining. Both BHL and CHC identified "significant" operational safety issues and took corrective measures, and they identified common operational risks on their AS332L fleets. The flight data measurements demonstrate a capability to "map the helideck envi ronment", to build up a picture of the precise nature of offshore platform structure-induced turbulence and the effects of hot turbine exhaust plumes. FLIGHT Daily processes Periodic processes Import of operations data • Periodic imports of updated locations data Automated import • of weather data ^ Flight data traces Weather database Operations and weather data used in event review process * Flight data events Flight data measurements Periodic export of measurement data to FDM BENCHMARKERS How CHC Europe stays safe CHC Europe, based in Aberdeen, Scotland, but operating also from Denmark, Ireland and Norway, is part of the world's largest heli copter group and one of the biggest operators serving the off shore oil support industry in the North Sea. It flies 14 Eurocopter AS332I/L2 Super Pumas and four Sikorsky S-61 Ns, but will be replacing the latter with four Sikorsky S-92s starting in 2005. This is a company snapshot of the systems CHC Europe uses to manage its safety standards: • Safety management: CMC Europe has a closed-loop safety management system (SMS) struc tured to comply with the UK Civil Aviation Authority CAP 712, which itself is harmonised with the rules of other European Joint Aviation Authorities states. CHC Europe is leading the worldwide CHC group in defining an updated SMS that is being implemented globally, using its own experience, plus methodol ogy inspired by best practices in other companies like Shell and Schreiner Aviation. CHC is in the process of developing a paper less, online internal reporting system to make flightcrew and maintenance incident reporting easier, simpler to process and more effective for analysis. It has a no-blame "just culture" incident reporting system for pilots and maintenance personnel. CHC's flightcrew and maintenance error management (MEM) reporting system, it says, have earned employee trust to the extent that they "almost encourage over- reporting", but the MEM reporting has often led to beneficial organi sational or procedure changes. • Flight operations monitoring: CHC Europe is taking part in the CAA's helicopter operations moni toring programme (HOMP), but the company prefers the terminology flight data monitoring (FDM) to HOMR CHC executives say they have been "pleasantly surprised by the results" and see FDM as poten tially cost-beneficial despite heavy initial equipment costs. The com pany says it "is committed" to FDM. • Pilot selection and training: CHC Europe recruits pilots with at least a full commercial pilot's licence (H) and an instrument rat ing, plus 1,500h flying, and its selection procedure includes psy chometric testing and simulator checks. The company trains suit ably qualified pilots who pass its tests for their type rating at no cost. • Engineer/mechanic training: CHC carries out its own mainte nance and trains its own maintenance personnel. It has a "mature apprentice" scheme that takes candidates through on-the- job training towards European licences. The CHC Group is a major third party helicopter main tenance supplier through its subsidiary ASTEC. • Unauthorised parts protec tion: CHC Europe maintains a vigilant system to check out spares supplies against unautho rised remanufactured spare parts. If it has any doubts, the company says it "quarantines" parts until it is able to check their history. 30 9-15 NOVEMBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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