As a retired s76 pilot, and having coped with a number of problems myself over the years, including blade problems, after looking at these photographs, I cannot believe, that the crew really felt no vibrations and then, allegedly having pulled blowaway power on several occasions made no entry in the technical log until they were found out
. What would have happened if the blade massacre had not occurred, would they have just said nothing until the next time the VXP was downloaded and they were exposed or a fatal accident occurred?
. Did they really get a commendation? I haven't been in Nigeria for a few years now, but I know that if I were the next pilot of an aircraft where i discovered that the crew had made no entry of a significant problem in the tech log, I'd have followed the advice of one poster and taken the pilot around the back of the hangar for retraining with the trusty Balisong I always carried in my nav bag (he may have had a squeaky voice after, but he'd never again tried to fcuk over a fellow aviator
). Did he really land on a rig, take on new passengers and then fly back? Whether he did or not, was an accident or incident report filed? Have any of the passengers commented? What does the client oil company have to say?
Over the years too many things have been swept in the carpet in Nigeria. Where is the report as to what really happened to Monty Hartley in 1998 in the Bell 212 crash near Onne? Was anyone ever prosecuted? What really happened to Mike and Eugene in BBS at Brass in December 2002? Is the wreckage still being hidden away at Agip? What really happened to the Pan African Bell 412 on a night call out (sorry, getting old and forgetful so I can't remember the names and dates any more, but I'm sure there are those who remember these things better than a young man like me
). What were the findings into the death of the pilot of 5N-BIQ at QIT last year?
I thought for many years that Bristow was a fine company with excellent standards, but towards the end of my flying career when they seemed to be prepared to leave me out to dry still as a young man, I discovered that Schreiner, even though they paid a bit less, had better compassion and standards. How sad that they were taken over by a bunch of rapacious, arrogant amateurs like CHC. Bristow, from everything I hear, is now being managed by something akin to the CHC management and standards and morale are dropping like a barometer ahead of an approaching hurricane. That's why I'm so surprised after reading about Nabil and Mani having been brought in by the astute Ebru family, to get Aero back on its feet again before the arrogant, incompetent bunch of amateurs CHC brought in run the company into the ground aren't getting a better handle on this one. After all, these photos we're seeing are obviously from a disgruntled employee who obviously feels that CHC don't listen and wants to try and get a pretty serious instance of aircraft damage seen by the world at large. The crew reportedly getting a commendation after trying to pretend nothing had happened would do it for me too - we all admire someone who immediately owns up to something, even if it's not his fault, but someone who commits a terminological inexactitude when I may be flying that helicopter next, deserves a rapid appointment with a proctologist
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In their rush to demonstrate that they had nothing to learn from Schreiner, the tin gods of CHC like Brain Clegg got rid of the people who had made the company, like Mani and Nigel. The Ebrus, being far more astute, have brought nabil and Mani back to turn things around and give the company some credibility. Maybe it's time they looked again at NN? He may not have always been popular because he was always prepared to face unpopularity from clients and employees in his quest to set new higher standards. He was probably responsible more than anyone in Aero RW for having set a standard that was as good as anywhere in the world, and better than most. Sadly, he was replaced by a bêche-de-mer and despite the known fact that nudibranchs are not renowned for maintaining or advancing standards no matter how good their knowledge of the regulations or availability of new toys he has now fallen out with BC and is no longer with CHC. The fact that he may be available should surely make the likes of Koen and Nabil think again about what it is they need to make Aero the pre-eminent aviation company in Nigeria. Many years ago the French wine industry was almost devastated by Phylloxera. However, they discovered that by importing rootstocks and then grafting native vines on to them, they were able to overcome the plague. Maybe, just maybe, Nigel is the helicopter equivalent of an imported rootstock for Aero. Until certain fundamentals are dealt with, changes made and hard decisions taken, even with the Bristow problems of morale and pathetic American management, surely Aero will see its fortunes continue to decline in favour of others willing to bite the bullet and do what is needed to succeed