To Fixed Wing Jockey:
I know that you posed this question to maxwelg2 but since we're in the same boat literally and travelling to/from the offshore by supply vessel, I thought I might add my thoughts if you don't mind. I do know that max is offshore at the moment but I'm sure he'll respond when he can get the time.
For me getting back in the 92 will be all about mitigating the risks associated with ditching because the chances of that happening now seem to have increased. The seas in the North Atlantic are rough so I think that a bare minimum would be to outfit all of Cougar's S-92's with the more robust float package. I know that there's a payload penalty but passengers will insist that safety comes first.
Second I think that flights should have a maximum ceiling of 4-5 thousand feet, as suggested by pilots on this board We don't need to waste precious minutes getting down to the water by flying at 9-10 thousand feet if a problem occurs. Third, maybe we need to have some reasonable sea state limitations to ensure that the passengers and crew of a ditched helicopter have a reasonable expectation of survivable.
I know that there are other more terrifying ways to come back to earth in a chopper such as what happened to the Bond Super Puma the other day but I try not to think of those scenarios.
