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2000
HELICOPTER SAFETY ADVISORY CONFERENCE (HSAC) GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONS AND SAFETY REVIEW

Please find attached the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) "2000 Gulf of Mexico Offshore Helicopter Operations and Safety Review". The membership support and response from 21 helicopter operators for this review is not only appreciated, but vital in establishing a meaningful report. Continued support is encouraged for the future.

The 2000 Gulf of Mexico oil industry helicopter accident rates per 100,000 hours was 2.04 with 9 accidents (all single engine) compared to the 16-year average of 6.9 accidents. The U.S. accident rates per 100,000 hours for all commercial helicopter operations was 3.76 and the fatal rate was 0.70, while the HSAC rates were 2.04 and 0.68 respectively. There were 3 fatal accidents with 3 fatalities (one caused by flight into water at night, one engine failure with apparent inability to maintain rotor RPM, and one remaining cause unknown).

In the last 4 years there have been 27 accidents resulting in 5 fatal accidents (18% fatal) with 6 fatalities. The leading causes of accidents have been 6 engine related (22%), 5 (18%) flight into terrain, water or obstacles, and 5 (18%) tail rotor malfunction with 5 accidents each (18%). Technical faults have accounted for 11 (40%) of these accidents. We are optimistic that by sharing this information with all operators and other oil industry group's safety initiatives may be developed to reduce accidents.

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA DETAILS

GULF OF MEXICO HELICOPTER FLEET OPERATIONAL DATA

As a service to the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) membership, this Gulf of Mexico Offshore Helicopter Statistical Report is compiled annually from information submitted voluntarily by the membership and helicopter operators. The information is neither verified nor reviewed for accuracy and should be treated as unofficial. The data is believed to be representative; however, the HSAC assumes no liability for accuracy or completeness.

2000 GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELCOPTER ACCIDENT DATA

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS					INJURY CLASSIFICATION						AIRCRAFT DAMAGES				AVIATION ACCIDENT
Aircraft Category					Injuries			Severity			Classification				Rates
	Type Aircraft	# Accidents	# Fatal	# Eng Related		Pax	Crew		Injured	Fatal		Minor	Substantial	Total Loss		# Acc 100k Hours	# Fatal Acc 100k Hours	# Fatal 100k Occupants	# Acc 100k Flt Stages
	Single Eng.	9	3*	2		5	4		5	2		0	1	8		2.85	0.95	0.09	0.86
	Light Twin	0	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
	Med. Twin	0	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
	Heavy Twin	0	0	0		0	0		0	0		0	0	0		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
	*2000 Totals*	9	3*	2		3	8		8	3		0	1	8		*2.04*	*0.68*	*0.04*	*0.65*
	1999 Totals	9	1	2		7	4		9	2		2	2	5		2.29	0.25	0.05	0.62

* One engine related Note, there was one single engine ditching due to engine failure, not recorded as an accident.

2000 GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER ACCIDENT CAUSES/INFO

Type	Engine Related	Tiedown Proced.	Bird Strike	Flight Into Terrain, Water or Obstacle	Fuel Starvation	Tail Rotor	Adverse Weather Start Proced.	Helideck Surface Hazard	Unknown	Pax Control	Mid Air	Helideck Design or Size Issues	Injuries Due To Engine Malf.
Single Eng	2	0	0	1	1	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	1*
Light Twin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Med. Twin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Heavy Twin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
*2000 Totals*	2	0	0	*1 (Night SE)*	1	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	1
97-99 Totals	4	1	1	4	0	2	2	1	1	1	2	0	0

* Engine failure with apparent inability to maintain rotor RPM

FIVE YEAR GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER ACCIDENT DATA

Number Of Accidents					Injury Classification						Aircraft Damages				Aviation Accident
Aircraft Category					Injuries			Severity			Classification				Rates
	Year	# Accidents	# Fatal	# Eng Related		Pax	Crew		Injured	Fatal		Minor	Substantial	Total Loss		# Acc 100k Hrs	# Fatal Acc 100k Hrs	# Fatal 100k Occupants	# Acc 100k Flt Stages
	1996	7	4	NR		7	4		0	11		1	2	4		1.58	0.91	0.19 E	0.42
	1997	6	1	1		6	6		11	1		1	2	4		1.27	0.21	0.02	0.35
	1998	3	1	1		0	2		1	1		0	1	3		0.66	0.22	0.02	0.22
	1999	9	1	2		7	4		9	2		2	2	5		2.29	0.25	0.05	0.62
	*2000*	9	3	1		3	8		8	3		0	1	8		*2.04*	*0.68*	*0.04*	*0.65*
	5 Yr. Avg.	6.8	2	1		4.6	4.8		5.8	3.6		0.8	1.6	4.8		1.57	0.45	0.04	0.45

	TYPE HELICOPTER					PASSENGERS CARRIED	HOURS FLOWN	NUMBER OF FLIGHTS
YEAR	SINGLE ENGINE	LIGHT TWIN	MEDIUM TWIN	HEAVY TWIN	TOTAL FLEET
1996	321	102	117	0	540	3,579,345	441,797	1,668,401
1997	380	114	131	11	636	3,759,642	471,513	1,705,629
1998	392	89	94	13	588	2,725,682	454,280	1,390,773
1999	413	81	93	14	601	2,664,848	392,712	1,459,781
2000*	385	76	106	15	581	*3,451,511*	*441,908*	*1,394,679*

	HOURS PER TYPE HELICOPTER					OPERATIONS PER TYPE HELICOPTERS HELICOPTER
YEAR	SINGLE ENGINE	LIGHT TWIN	MEDIUM TWIN	HEAVY TWIN	TOTAL FLEET	SINGLE ENGINE	LIGHT TWIN	MEDIUM TWIN	HEAVY TWIN)	TOTAL FLEET
1997*	288,443	69,142	109,631	4,297	471,513	1,113,151	249,595	320,023	22,860	1,705,629
1998	303,434	54,509	88,470	7,867	454,280	1,025,105	183,133	167,255	15,280	1,390,773
1999	280,150	38,218	66,071	8,273	392,712	1,161,888	124,480	158,175	15,238	1,459,781
*2000*	*316,029*	*38,126*	*79,736*	*8,016*	*441,908*	*1,051,160*	*134,035*	*192,289*	*17,197*	*1,394,679*

Averages Per Helicopter	1998	*1999*	*2000*	Averages Per Helicopter	1998	*1999*	*2000*
Passengers per Day per 5 Day Week	10,483	10,249	*13,275*	Annual Hours Per Aircraft	773	653	*760*
Flights Per Day	3,810	3,999	*3,821*	Flights Per Aircraft	2,365	2,429	*2,399*
Average Flight Duration in Min.	20	16	19	Passengers Flown Per Year	4,636	4,434	*5,936*

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA DETAILS

GULF OF MEXICO HELICOPTER FLEET OPERATIONAL DATA

2000 GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELCOPTER ACCIDENT DATA

Single Eng.

* One engine related Note, there was one single engine ditching due to engine failure, not recorded as an accident.

NR = Not Reported E = Estimated