Helicopter ditches in North Sea (Ditching Aug23 2013) - Public Inquiry

slambo69 · 10 May 2012 at 12:49

I know theres a few people on this forum, myself included, who work in oil and gas and will have been offshore. Hopefully no-one is hurt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18020646

MrViper · 10 May 2012 at 12:52

do they gave to wear the full safety gear when flying in a helecopter?

Firestar_3x · 10 May 2012 at 12:53

Whenever i board an offshore helicopter my assumption is if we ever ditch my legs are going to be broken and my chance of escape are slim.

I hope these guys are ok, I’d hate to be in the situation of putting my survival training into practice.

MrViper said:
do they gave to wear the full safety gear when flying in a helecopter?

Depends on which country you fly in, warmer climates you don't need a survival suit, colder ones you do.

Not all operators make you wear respirators, but everyone i've been on makes you wear a lifejacket.

slambo69 · 10 May 2012 at 12:54

Yes, everyone will have a survival suit, so its waterproof, with air, life jacket etc.

The worry is that does bugger all if the helicopter crashes to fast.

slambo69 · 10 May 2012 at 12:55

The article has been updated, seems all 14 people made it to a life craft.

Firestar_3x · 10 May 2012 at 13:00

Good stuff.

Brynn · 10 May 2012 at 13:01

Its a Bond chopper again.

Thats approximatly one ditching every two years.

pastymuncher · 10 May 2012 at 13:03

Not another Super Puma is it?

Scougar · 10 May 2012 at 13:04

Is that because they are so popular perhaps?

For that one time these people were saved, all that training of pilots was worth it. Well done :-)

Jokester · 10 May 2012 at 13:09

pastymuncher said:
Not another Super Puma is it?

Yup.

Brynn · 10 May 2012 at 13:12

I hate the Super Puma's. Its the back seats facing eachother that puts me off.

I love the Sikorsky 92's. Its like a flying minibus its well ace.

peter_hutson · 10 May 2012 at 13:16

MrViper said:
do they gave to wear the full safety gear when flying in a helecopter?

The exact gear will depend on the country and the company.

In the North sea, you would have a survival suit and life jacket as a minimum. Some companies require re-breathers (A bag you exhale into that allows you to continue breathing underwater for a limited time) and personal electronic locator beacons. In winter you might also be asked to wear an additional thermal suit under your survival suit.

Everyone on board will be trained to evacuate in an emergency ditch. Everything is done to give you the best chance of survival in the event that a helicopter goes down. The fact that everyone seems to have made it out in this case is a testament to that.

Cosimo · 10 May 2012 at 13:19

peter_hutson said:
Everyone on board will be trained to evacuate in an emergency ditch. Everything is done to give you the best chance of survival in the event that a helicopter goes down. The fact that everyone seems to have made it out in this case is a testament to that.

I presume that is training in some sort of pool?

Firestar_3x · 10 May 2012 at 13:21

simulatorman said:
I presume that is training in some sort of pool?

Yep, the BOSIET is run over several days, and features both lectures and practical works.

HUET was my fav bit, followed by playing with fire fighting gear.

Windle · 10 May 2012 at 13:23

simulatorman said:
I presume that is training in some sort of pool?

Yeah you get dropped into the pool, see here http://www.offshoresurvivalaberdeen.com/

-Ad- · 10 May 2012 at 13:24

Survivex do the training in a cold pool, in darkness with water cannons. At Falck we were in a nice warm pool, not quite the same as the N. Sea. I'd want to do it at Survivex for the renewal just so you get a glimmer of what it might be like!!!

Anyway it's a lot differnt being lowered into the pool than slamming into the sea whilst in sheer panic. THank god they all made it out and it was a controlled ditch.

I'll be flying back in a Bristow EC225 next week, would never fly with Bond, especially after this latest incident!

followed by playing with fire fighting gear.

I remember seeing the hardcore firefighting training going on with 1/2 a plane on fire. Those guys are hardcore!

peter_hutson · 10 May 2012 at 13:26

simulatorman said:
I presume that is training in some sort of pool?

Yep. It's been a few years since I did my offsore survival training, but I don't believe its changed that much in the UK.

The drill takes place in a pool with helicopter cabin mockup that has the ability to roll. You wear all the expected gear and are strapped in. The cabin is then lowered into the water and rolls to simulate how a helipcopter would behave if the floation aids failed or it was a heavy ditch. You count to 5 (to give the rotors time to stop spinning) release your straps and exit through the windows.

The pool is calm, warm, there are divers in the pool and there is an air pocket in the cabin if you get into trouble. Even with all that it's quite a scary experience. I dread to think what it would be like in bad weather in a real emergency.

I believe there is a more intense version, where the pool is in darkness and the wave machine is switched on. I think though that is reserved for emergency service and pilot training.

Firestar_3x · 10 May 2012 at 13:26

I was disapointed with my HUET training, we didn't do the ditching at night, nor with the wave machines running.

Efour · 10 May 2012 at 13:35

I did mine at Norwich Petans Ltd.

It was fairly **** tbh and not being rig crew they sort of skimmed over us. All the pool stuff was in a heated well lit pool - we asked for the wave machine and they said it was a breach of Health and safety....
I was offshore when one went down in the Danish sector and the people on it didn't fair so well.
Sounds weird but i always figured if i was on a ditched one id probably be dead anyway...

ones in SA gave you the tiniest little wetsuit thing ever and me being 6`5" all it did was neuter me for the duration.

Jokester · 10 May 2012 at 13:36

I've no choice, Bond is my clients chopper contractor. Seems it's either a BP, Maersk or Wood Group flight based on the flights that were in the air.