Bristow S76 Aberdeen drama.
 

Just got word of a Bristow S76 with a Pan call looking at putting it down on a beach but managed to make it back to Aberdeen to the usual fanfare of fire engines. Gearbox anyone.....?

Have you got one to sell?

HF

:ok:

I though the way RTB's occurred these days was to get it in the news ASAP regardless of cause... Or so it seems with the last few newspaper reports.

Doesn't look like Jake Molloy will get his wish I guess.

Evening Express - Article - Call for oil workers to be told more about incidents

The last 76 that was doing that was running out of fuel. Put it down by Nigg lighthouse with about 2 litres left.

On the way back from the TW58 wasn't it?

Yes. As Shell Management will know, it was refused fuel on the Auk because Shell had banned the S76 from its helidecks.

Wasn't it G-BIEJ being flown single pilot

All of our contracts up to then were flown single pilot. I have a feeling that that flight was a 2 pilot contract but they hadn't told Ops or the crews.. However, after that it was all 2 pilot which was a bit of a bore as the LHS was essential for putting your meal tray and duty free on.

Bristow had just had one of their pilot's redundancy schemes and were short of 332 pilots so I was converted to help out. I then refreshed on the 330 to help them out so I was flying three types for a couple of months. I got fed up with doing so many V/IMC base checks that I threw in the 76.

Can't remember the year of that occurrence, FED, not sure whether I was still in ABZ or not. Can you remember when it was? 198?

It even made Hansard!

Bristow's Helicopters (Emergency Landings) (Hansard, 23 March 1982)

Question: Why had Shell banned S-76s from their helidecks.
I could not have been the South Kirkton spindle failure later in the afternoon - unless they had a premonition.
Perhaps you can fill me in..... Thanks.
And I believe that it was a Philips flight to the rig Bendoran (ref P&J November 16. 1982 when the report was released)

maybe after this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_B...ky_S-76A_crash

or around 2009-2011 when the S76 fell out of favour after the spate of AS332 crashes, because of the cramped rear cabin

Totally unrelated - the incident in question happened in 1982! I was told that the pilot opted not to refuel but was caught out by the wind increasing, but that may be incorrect. Sadly, FED is no longer with us to expand.....

Totally off topic but wow a 10 year thread resurrection. That's the longest I have ever seen. 😉

I can assure you he was not the first North Sea Pilot that got caught out by a Wind change.....or a planned refueling stop go U/S or become not a choice due to fog.

Seeing that 5,000 Watt "Fuel Low" caution light illuminate was always an invigorating experience even when you had the airfield or rig in sight.

I never suggested he was, I was simply suggesting the closed deck story might have been a red herring. In those days there certainly would not have been issue with that wind speed. Plus, they had an S76 based offshore in that field ( well not long after - as it flew into the water one night!) so highly unlikely they had an issue with the type.