On Facebook there is a page called Destroy The Pumas. It has over 34,000 likes so far. Here is something I just posted on there - maybe a little bit of it will get through to some of them, who knows, but was worth a try.. If I am inaccurate on some of it then apologies.
Interesting page here however I think there are a few misconceptions. I own and publish two helicopter industry magazines, and one of them HeliOps covers the global civil helicopter industry which includes offshore oil & gas operations. I spend 10 months of the year travelling shooting and flying in helicopters all over the world INCLUDING the AS332L1/L2 and EC225. The Super Puma family has been flying around the world for decades and will continue to do so - carrying hundreds of thousands of people to and from work, oil workers included and clocking hundreds of thousands of trouble free flying hours with no incidents. The men and women who FLY these helicopters are just like every oil worker reading this page - they want to come home EVERY NIGHT and see their wife and children. They have no intention of wanting to not make it back. They didnt spend hundreds of thousands of dollars going through all the training to get their licences just to fly something that wasnt going to bring them home safely.
They are the same as an airline pilot - they have a responsibility to those in the seats behind them to get home safe and sound - the only difference is they are flying a helicopter and not a Boeing 777 etc. EVERY pilot I know around the world WILL NOT fly a helicopter that is not 100% safe - its ludicrous to think they would. And NO they do not get paid ONLY if they fly - these guys flying in the North Sea for companies like Bristow, CHC, Bond etc are paid an annual salary like you men and women so there is NO incentive for them to fly a bad machine for ANY reason and I personally know many who fly in the north sea including some who have refused to take off because of a maintenance issue with their aircraft. Once the issue is fixed then they departed - keeping in mind its their lives at risk as well as those in the back. Pilots don't want to have an accident - its not in their nature.
Saying companies like CHC, Bristow, Bond, ERA etc are only in it for the money and don't care about pax safety is also incorrect. These companies know the repercussions of ANY accident so do everything they can to avoid one but sometimes in this industry accidents do happen despite all the best efforts to prevent them. Some are from human errors, some related to weather, some related to mechanical issues. Some we have control over, some we dont. I have personally lost many friends in this industry over the time I have been involved and hate it every time it happens but do I call for one type of helo to be banned because of it - No I dont. I feel gutted for the friends and families of all those lost on ANY accident but to call for the banning of that helo type because of it I think is unwarranted.
In regards to the latest accident it has nothing to do with the same cause as the EC225 accidents - they are a different model of the Puma family so in my opinion its unfair to ban the whole Puma family because of two unrelated accidents. It would be best to wait until the actual cause of this latest accident is known before making blanket statements to destroy what is a great helicopter. I personally have done many flights and shoots on the L1/L2 and also EC225 and would get on one again tomorrow. In fact I did a shoot with ERA Helicopters 225 in Houma, LA in March which the UK ones were still grounded, thats how confident I am in the product and I value my life just as much as everyone here values theirs.
Keep in mind helicopters are complicated pieces of aviation machinery and from time to time accidents happen - its not nice and the results are not usually survivable but they do happen. Its not through lack of maintenance or the skilled crews who fly them. Sometimes things are just not seen in time for them to become catastrophic as they happen so quick. Like pilots the mechanics who work on the Puma family KNOW that peoples lives rest on their work and they do everything to the best of their abilities to ensure that any aircraft that is pushed out of the hangar door is 100% airworthy. Who do you think the first person accident investigators will look at if its a mechanical issue that brings a helicopter down - yep the engineers who were the last ones working on it. Its not a good situation to put yourself in so they dont.
Human error happens in all parts of the world we live in whether it be driving the car down the road and we decide to answer our cell phone instead of concentrating on the road and we run off it, the women driver who pulls out into cross traffic while putting her make up on etc etc. Unfortunately it happens in aviation as well, except the consequences are magnified because of where and what we are operating.
This post is no way taking away the losses and heartache felt by those on here who knew someone that died on any of these accidents, in fact I knew the co-pilot on the Cougar S92 who died in that accident. If anything use your collective might to push for bigger escape windows, better training to get out of a ditched helicopter etc. I mention the ditching training for a reason - and that is in my opinion the training of oil workers in getting out of an upside down helicopter is unrealistic. Your training is done in a dunker in a swimming pool, usually nice and warm and with divers all around. Yet look at the accidents that have happened - they are out in the North Sea one of the most hostile environments out there. Under the water you are getting thrown around by waves and its normally dark and gloomy - to me thats what you should be trained for. Push for realistic training that will stand you in good steed should the unthinkable ever happen again.
I hope those of you reading this take it for what its worth. My thoughts are with everyone here.
Ned Dawson
Publisher - HeliOps Magazine