Lonewolf,
Question for NS operators: is there a "sterile cockpit" period in NS pax flights similar to the "sterile cockpit" standards for fixed wing airline flying?
At least one operator does (2 now I've seen Bristow do as well), I would imagine they all do. HC's points are very valid though, very few crews will sit in almost complete silence for the 15 mins or so it takes to come down from from a flight level, or at the Holding Point at 0715 when ATC tell you you're number 10 in the queue!
26500lbs,
Please remember when comparing military to civil CFIT per fg hour figures that the vast majority of the military fg hours will have been done within a few hundred feet of the surface, as opposed to a few thousand feet in the cruise in the NS. Not disputing your overall point, but in this context NS hours vs mil hrs are vastly different beasts.