Another perspective perhaps.
Hello, I would like to take this chance to add my thoughts and ideas to this already substantial discussion regarding North Sea helicopters.
As a quick explanation I am one of the SLF (great phrase). I claim no in depth knowledge of piloting techniques or politics etc although I would like to point out I do have a low hours fixed wing PPL (no sniggers please) and a lifelong interest in aviation so do have a reasonably good technical understanding of the discussions. I would like to make my comments as a regular passenger in these aircraft as invited by previous replies earlier in the discussion.
My primary reaction is to complement the recent suggestions for lower number of passengers per flight and would like to highly recommend to anyone with influence reading this that this is in my opinion a potential major point in influencing those offshore to return to flight on the SP class of aircraft.
There is obviously the as yet undetermined issue of the 332L2 ditching and the concerns over reliability etc. and I would not like to make any decision in my own mind on this airframe until the proper investigations have been completed or more conclusive explanations released.
Having said that I personally dislike the 332 (all variants) as a frequent passenger as simply they are cramped and uncomfortable and more importantly seem old simply based on condition (fixtures and fittings, noise and vibration levels etc.) and with the mechanical stresses that helicopters undergo - an old helicopter feels unsafe. I am well aware that these machines undergo some of the best maintenance possible (I sincerely hope) and cannot fly except in perfect condition but with so many parts subject to high stress then the airframe apparent age goes strongly against them.
Ignoring technical issues I would like to return to my previous comment of passenger comfort. There are 2 issues here, one of which is the day to day being jammed in like a sardine for hours on end (This is a very widespread opinion of travelling on this class of helicopter - and why the S92 is liked much more with its larger cabin and better seats) and the other of which is escape in the event of emergency.
Just as a thought, imagine what the HSE would say if you were to set up a replica of a 332 in the full environment dunker and put 18 people in it in normal offshore survival suits then even with safety divers run a night time storm dunking simulation. Would you sit on that chopper even in the pool?
My suggestion is (assuming proper human factor analysis) remove seats making the 332 a 14 seat helicopter.
From the laymans view this would help by
1. Better chance of escape - i.e. more room to move.
2. Better comfort during flight - any room to move is better than none.
3. More baggage capacity - not previously mentioned this is a bugbear amongst some offshore workers - particularly third party persons who travel between different rigs and have to carry more gear. There are still too many examples of having to leave a bag behind.
4. A lowering of the loading of the machine which would surely reduce stress and associated failures. If your horse was 15 years old would you still load it up with a weight and run it hard over jumps?
A few months ago I was informed that the client I was working for at a time had a 14 persons limit on the flights which seemed like an extremely good idea so why not formalise it by some means and take the other seats out.
I have not mentioned 225's here but would like to suggest they also have seats removed as despite being newer and if the comments on here are true, much better, they still suffer from nearly the same cramped positions. I suspect its quite possible that acceptance among the majority of passengers could be influenced by making it seem more safe while improving comfort.
I do appreciate in most cases this issue is one determined by the client as opposed to the operator but with the 'workforce getting larger' (as reported repeatedly over the years) is this possibly a regulatory issue now?
I apologies in advance if I have stepped on anyone's toes or caused upset in this post. I am just attempting to get across a different point of view - from someone sat offshore just now.
As a final comment, I imagine being asked how I would travel offshore and would probably respond as follows
1. Boat or chopper? - Boat definitely.
2. S92? Yes if necessary.
3. EC225? Maybe.
4. EC332? Nope thanks.