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

Please find attached the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) "1999 Gulf of Mexico Offshore Helicopter Operations and Safety Review". The membership support and response from 25 helicopter operators for this review is not only appreciated, but vital in establishing a meaningful report. Continued support is encouraged for the future.

The Gulf of Mexico oil industry helicopter accident rates per 100,000 hours was the highest at 2.29 that it has been since 1986 with 9 accidents compared to the 16 year average of 6.7 accidents. The U.S. accident rates per 100,000 hours for all commercial helicopter operations was 3.87 and the fatal rate was 0.92, while the HSAC rates were 2.29 and 0.25 respectively. There was 1 fatal accident with 2 fatalities

In the last 3 years there have been 18 accidents resulting in 3 fatal accidents (14% fatal) with 4 fatalities. The leading causes of accidents have been engine related and flight into terrain, water or obstacles with 4 accidents each (22% each), followed by tail rotor malfunction and mid-air collision with 2 accidents each (11% each). The 2 midairs and previously mentioned skid hazard accidents resulted in 2 fatalities each.

We are optimistic that by sharing this information with all operators and other oil industry groups safety initiatives may be developed to reduce accidents.

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA SUMMARY

	TYPE HELICOPTER					PASSENGERS CARRIED	HOURS FLOWN	NUMBER OF FLIGHTS
YEAR	SINGLE ENGINE	LIGHT TWIN	MEDIUM TWIN	HEAVY TWIN	TOTAL FLEET
1995	313	117	133	0	563	3,483,152	413,314	1,527,318
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*

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA DETAILS

	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*

GULF OF MEXICO HELICOPTER FLEET OPERATIONAL DATA

Averages Per Helicopter	1997	1998	*1999*	Averages Per Helicopter	1997	1998	*1999*
Passengers per Day per 5 Day Week	14,460	10,483	*10,249*	Annual Hours Per Aircraft	741	773	*653*
Flights Per Day	4,673	3,810	*3,999*	Flights Per Aircraft	2,682	2,365	*2,429*
Average Flight Duration in Min.	17	20	16	Passengers Flown Per Year	5,911	4,636	*4,434*

1999 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

Minor

Serious

Fatal

Minor

Substantial

Total

Loss

# Acc 100k Hours

# Fatal Acc 100k Hours

# Fatal 100k Occupants

# Acc 100k Flt Stages

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA SUMMARY

GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELICOPTER OPERATIONAL DATA DETAILS

GULF OF MEXICO HELICOPTER FLEET OPERATIONAL DATA

1999 GULF OF MEXICO OFFSHORE HELCOPTER ACCIDENT DATA

Single Eng.