Max,
My last MIS-BOSET was in Malaysia a few years ago
I suspect our paths would have crossed. I know from your posts that we share a similar passion for safety, albeit from a different perspective (customer vs crew). I do hope our paths will cross again at some point so we can exchange viewpoints.
I would like to add to the current debate on the specifics of this incident, however......
I will offer one opinion. The thread running stating that Norwegian standards were superior to UK standards I believe to be false. As HC has stated, the two current operators on both sides of the median line operate to similar, if not identical Standard Operating Procedures. The biggest identifiable difference is that there are two operators in Norway, whereas due to commercial reasons (i.e. BP reintroducing a third operator) the UK sector now has greater competition and far cheaper rates. It would be interesting to hear the HSSG viewpoint on how safety is affected by the commercial "efficiency" the offshore helicopters operators have to introduce!
I am not saying that any operator deliberately introduces policies and procedures that introduce additional obvious risk, or take shortcuts. However there are commercial pressures to "trim" towards the basic regulations rather than build the "gold plated" standard.
None of this may be related to the current incident!
Finally, a word of caution regarding statistics. Shell have probably been the most proactive oil company over the last 30 years with regard to improving offshore helicopter safety. However if you were to look at which North Sea oil company has suffered the most fatalities in the N Sea, Shell is top of the list by a long way. There is no statistically valid reason for this and it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Shell was a bad contract manager, etc. I use this as an example to demonstrate that low frequency events will sometimes produce odd statistics that should be categorised more to 'bad luck' rather than anything else. I would include in this category:
Norway vs UK
Super Puma variants vs S92 VS AW139
Bristow vs CHC vs Bond
OK, that's probably enough for now.
My thoughts are both with the individuals and families that have suffered a loss, as well as those that are making their own individual journey through the post-traumatic stress that this event has imposed on them both directly and indirectly.
This is not a good time for the industry and we need to pull together as one.