SAFETY STATISTICS

1999 Stats

2000 Stats
 2001 Stats
1998 E & P FORUM WORLD-WIDE OIL INDUSTRY HELICOPTER OPERATIONS AND SAFETY REVIEW
1999 E & P FORUM WORLD-WIDE OIL INDUSTRY HELICOPTER OPERATIONS AND SAFETY REVIEW
2000 E & P FORUM WORLD-WIDE OIL INDUSTRY HELICOPTER OPERATIONS AND SAFETY REVIEW
2001 E & P FORUM WORLD-WIDE OIL INDUSTRY HELICOPTER OPERATIONS AND SAFETY REVIEW

2002

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

 

 
HSAC Members:
May 13, 2002

Please find attached the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) "2002 Gulf of Mexico Offshore Helicopter Operations and Safety Review". The membership support and response from 24 helicopter operators for this review is not only appreciated, but vital in establishing a meaningful report. Continued support is encouraged for the future.

The 2002 Gulf of Mexico oil industry helicopter accident rate per 100,000 flight hours was 1.49 with a total of 6 accidents (all single engine) compared to an 19-year annual average accident rate of 1.72 with a total of 8.8 accidents. The U.S. accident rate per 100,000 hours for all commercial non-scheduled FAR Part 135 operations was 3.68. and the fatal rate was 0.82, while the HSAC helicopter rates were 1.49 and 0.25 respectively. There was 1 fatal accident with 1 fatality when pilot attempted to depart on offshore platform while still tied to the helideck.

In the last 5 years, there have been 36 accidents of which 7 were fatal (19%), including 8 fatalities and 29 injuries. 16 (44%) of these accidents were due to pilot procedure related causes and 10 (27%) were due to technical fault. The specific leading causes of accidents in the last 5 years have been:

  •  7 engine related (19%) - one of this resulted in a fatality.
  •  6 (16%) loss of control or improper procedure.
  •  3 (8%) each for fuel quality control, loss of tail rotor control, and obstacle strike on a helideck.
  •  2 flight into terrain/water accidents, both at night.

During 2002, improper pilot procedures accounted for 3 (50%) of the 6 accidents. 1 of these was due to failure to remove tie-downs before attempted departure, 1 was loose cargo hitting the tail rotor, and the last was a hard landing in high winds.

 

Type Aircraft

% Night Flight

% IFR Flight
Single Eng.

Light Twin

Med. Twin

Heavy Twin

Fleet Average

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 and incidents.

Bob Williams
Industry Liaison Committee Member

  GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA SUMMARY

 

 

YEAR

TYPE HELICOPTER

 

PASSENGERS  CARRIED

 

HOURS           FLOWN

 

NUMBER

OF    FLIGHTS

SINGLE ENGINE

LIGHT TWIN 

MEDIUM TWIN      

HEAVY TWIN

TOTAL FLEET

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

2001

407

87

121

17

632

3,127,449

451,712

1,473,057

2002*

411

77

121

16

625

3,088,865

402,632

1,564,362

*   Data extracted from voluntary input of 24 helicopter operators Gulf of Mexico

 

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA DETAILS

 

HOURS by TYPE HELICOPTER

OPERATIONS (Takeoff/Landings) by TYPE HELICOPTER

YEAR

SINGLE ENGINE

LIGHT TWIN

MEDIUM TWIN

HEAVY TWIN

TOTAL FLEET

SINGLE ENGINE

LIGHT TWIN

MEDIUM TWIN

HEAVY TWIN)

TOTAL FLEET

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

2001

309,429

35,318

96,548

10,417

451,712

1,123,393

125,832

204,285

19,547

1,473,057

2002

284,226

26,610

83,556

8,240

402,632

1,251,945

99,117

195,883

17,417

1,564,362

 

 

GULF OF MEXICO HELICOPTER FLEET OPERATIONAL DATA

Averages Per Helicopter

2000

2001

2002

 

Averages Per Helicopter

2000

2001

2002

Passengers per  Day per  5 Day Week

13,275

12,029

11,880

 

Annual Hours Per Aircraft

760

715

644

Flights Per Day

3,821

4,036

4,286

 

Flights Per Aircraft

2,399

2,333

2,503

Average Flight Duration in Min.

19

18

15