Bristow statement to investors on the current L2 incident
Bristow advises investors of changes to Super Puma operations | Vertical Magazine
On Aug. 26, Bristow Group filed the following report with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission:
On August 23, 2013, an incident occurred with an AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter operated by another helicopter company, which resulted in a ditching on the North Sea, near Sumburgh in the Shetland Isles, UK. The aircraft was carrying 16 passengers and two crew members at the time of the ditching. Four fatalities and multiple injuries were reported.
The cause of the incident is not yet known and is under investigation by authorities in the UK. To date there is no information to suggest that there is any connection between the current incident with the AS332 L2 aircraft and the prior incidents with the EC225 aircraft in the UK in May 2012 and October 2012. The EC225 incidents resulted in the issuance of a directive from the Civil Aviation Authority on October 25, 2012 suspending operations of the EC225 aircraft. No reports or directives have been issued by authorities in the UK as a result of the AS332 L2 incident. However, the Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG), an industry group in the UK consisting of helicopter operators, union representatives and oil and gas customers, recommended as a precautionary measure on August 23, 2013 that operators suspend all Super Puma (which includes the AS332 L, AS332 L1, AS332 L2 and EC225 aircraft types) commercial passenger flights to and from offshore oil and gas installations within the UK. Separately, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on August 24, 2013 required operators of the AS332 L2 aircraft to suspend operations of the affected aircraft within Nigeria.
Bristow Group Inc. operates a total of twenty AS332 series aircraft worldwide as follows: AS332 L – Nine in Australia, one in Nigeria and seven in the UK; AS332 L1 – One in Australia; and AS332 L2 – Two in Nigeria.
The company has suspended operations of its two AS332 L2s in Nigeria. Consistent with the HSSG recommendation and after consultation with our customers, the company has also suspended operations of its seven AS332 Ls in the UK.
The company expects to increase utilization of other in-region aircraft and implement contingency plans designed to identify other available aircraft that can be safely and quickly mobilized to minimize or eliminate the impact on our clients’ critical operations. It is too early to determine whether the current incident will impact the timing of the return to service of the EC225 aircraft or otherwise have a material impact on the company.