Helicopter operators launch HeliOffshore

Five major offshore helicopter operators (Avincis, Bristow Group, CHC Helicopter, Era and PHI Inc) have joined forces to form HeliOffshore, a new initiative aimed at enhancing offshore helicopter safety by sharing best practices, developing and applying advanced technology and encouraging common global flight standards.

HeliOffshore will initially focus on six priority areas:

• Automation;
• Pilot monitoring;
• Stablised approaches;
• Accident survivability;
• Application of health and usage monitoring (HUMS); and
• Information exchange.

Gretchen Haskins, HeliOffshore’s chief executive, commented: “HeliOffshore will work to achieve the highest levels of safety, in the air and on the ground. We want to deliver real safety benefits for the people who depend on the industry to get to and from their offshore workplaces, the crews who fly the helicopters and the teams who maintain them.”

The new association is open to any group with a stake in offshore helicopter flight. Membership is expected to include customers of helicopter services, aircraft manufacturers, service providers, technology companies, staff and passenger organisations, and government and research institutions.

UK Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill said: “We all agree safety is the highest priority for the offshore helicopter industry. By bringing the main operators together, HeliOffshore will help to promote safety and share best practice. This is a really positive step towards ensuring the strongest possible safeguards are in place and are applied consistently. I will also be working to ensure the Civil Aviation Authority continues to implement the recommendations from its Offshore Helicopter Review.”

HeliOffshore grew out of a joint initiative by helicopter operators that started more than a year ago, to improve offshore flight safety in the North Sea, as well as from work by the European Helicopter Operators Committee. So while HeliOffshore’s origins are regional, its objectives are global.

For further detail, please click here.