2009 GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE

SAFETY STATISTICS

1999 Stats

2000 Stats
2001 Stats
2002 Stats
2003 Stats
2004 Stats
2005 Stats
2006 Stats
2007 Stats
2008 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

2008HELICOPTER SAFETY ADVISORY CONFERENCE (HSAC) GULF OF MEXICO
OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONS AND SAFETY REVIEW

HSAC Members:

March 29, 2010

HSAC Members:
Please find attached the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) "2009 Gulf of Mexico Offshore Helicopter Operations and Safety Review". The membership support and response from 12 helicopter operators for this review is not only appreciated, but vital in establishing a meaningful report.

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) has experienced a consolidation of operators in recent years, having gone from 22 operators several years ago to 12 now. The 8 accidents recorded in 2009 were in line with the average number of 8.3 of accidents in the GoM since HSAC began gathering statistics in 1984.

The 2009 GoM oil industry helicopter accident rate per 100,000 flight hours was 2.32 with a total of 8 accidents (four single engine, and two each light and medium twin) compared to a 26-year annual average accident rate of 1.76. The fatal accident rate per 100,000 flight hours during 2009 was 0.29 with one fatal accident (8 fatalities) compared to a 26-year average of 0.65.
In the last 5 years, there have been 31 accidents of which 7 were fatal (22%), resulting in 23 fatalities and 32 injuries. The leading causes, not all inclusive, of accidents in the last 11 years have been:

19 engine related
15 loss of control or improper procedures
15 helideck obstacle strikes
10 controlled flight into terrain
11 other technical failures

HSAC has published a number of Recommended Practices to address these issues and they can be reviewed at www.HSAC.org. We are optimistic that by sharing this information with all operators and other oil industry group's, safety initiatives may be developed and implemented to further reduce accidents and incidents.

Bob Williams
Industry Liaison Committee Member

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA SUMMARY

YEAR	NUMBERS by TYPE HELICOPTER					PASSENGERS CARRIED	HOURS FLOWN	NUMBER OF FLIGHTS
YEAR	SINGLE ENGINE	LIGHT TWIN	MEDIUM TWIN	HEAVY TWIN	TOTAL FLEET	PASSENGERS CARRIED	HOURS FLOWN	NUMBER OF FLIGHTS
2005	424	48	99	18	589	2,625,322	389,544	1,310,736
2006	376	59	124	25	584	2,762,317	406,564	1,246,172
2007	387	61	123	35	606	2,953,484	410,797	1,294,141
2008	365	49	107	30	551	2,936,772	410,321	1,245,770
2009*	312	41	103	39	495	2,477,834	344,817	1,195,667

* Data extracted from voluntary input of 12 helicopter operators in the 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
2005	275,225	21,386	80,787	12,146	389,544	1,062,942	65,076	162,476	20,242	1,310,736
2006	283,304	25,118	79,207	18,935	406,564	984,612	78,074	153,822	32,059	1,246,172
2007	280,683	27,617	81,895	20,602	410,797	1,019,611	90,109	153,402	31,019	1,294,141
2008	282,958	25,939	79,291	22,133	410,321	976,611	82,233	152,235	34,691	1,245,770
2009	240,507	23,878	62,195	18,237	344,817	957,756	87,771	117,438	32,702	1,195,667

GULF OF MEXICO HELICOPTER FLEET OPERATIONAL DATA

Averages Per Helicopter	*2007*	2008	2009	Averages Per Helicopter	*2007*	2008	2009
Passengers per Day per 5 Day Week	11,360	*11,295*	*9,530*	Annual Hours Per Aircraft	678	*745*	*697*
Flights Per Day	3,546	*3,413*	*3,276*	Flights Per Aircraft	2,136	*2,261*	*2,415*
Average Flight Duration in Min.	19	20	17	Passengers Flown Per Year	4,874	*5,330*	*5,006*

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.