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Old 18th Jun 2018, 17:04
  #166 (permalink)  
birmingham
 
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Progress or no progress

Originally Posted by jimf671
Some people need to swot up on the raw numbers of rotorcraft accidents, and deaths.

Two types with a substantial period in service (14 yrs), shine out above all that has gone before in terms of the raw numbers concerning accidents and fatalities. These are the S-92 and EC225.


" when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it"
William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)


[Helmet, body armour, take cover.]
From what I can tell of the figures from the North Sea the numbers for helicopter safety the numbers are far from encouraging ...
  • In the first five years of NS ops there were 18 helicopter related fatalities
  • In the most recent five year period there were also 18 helicopter related fatalities
  • The safest period of operation 1987-1996 had not a single fatality despite this being the period of peak activity.
  • In the first 20 years (1975 - 1995) there were around 76 helicopter related fatalities over four accidents
  • In the last 20 years (1997-2018) there have been around 62 helicopter related fatalities over ten accidents
So in what way are things safer?

Also we need to debunk the myth that most accidents are pilot related. Of course, in aviation in general that is true. But in the NS the vast majority of these 144 deaths were attributed as having a primary mechanical cause.

So why has the Puma been singled out;
  • It's the most common type so unsurprisingly has been involved in more incidents
  • The workers and unions have lost confidence as the accident rate increased
  • AH have failed to win them over
  • The Puma is an older design which is smaller and arguably less comfortable than the new machine (S92)
  • Despite a nasty scare the S92 has yet to have a fatal accident in the North Sea
  • The specific causes of the epicyclic related accidents is similar but remains unattributed awaiting the final report - so doubts remain
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