Still here reading every post with interest. Even if I am not getting in the back presently, my friends, colleagues and some family regularly do. Forgive not quoting, I am going to refer to post numbers and posters. Please correct me if any of my assumptions are wrong.
The pilots involved in this incident. We do not know the full reason or reasons for this accident yet, so let's not presume they are guilty of anything until all the facts are known, we cannot make any judgements until we have the full facts, but we can learn lessons, which I think everyone is doing on this thread on the forum.
victor papa - post 1484 page 75. Please keep fighting to try and implement the improvements you and your colleagues have discovered - keep fighting against the stupidity. I fully agree with Senior Pilots post 1493 on the same page. Perhaps you could remind them there are 4 grieving families, a seriously injured pilot and some others who are very lucky to have walked away from this one.
26500lbs - post 1572 page 79. You have quoted one of the many excellent posts by Double Bogey advocating flying fully coupled which I assume is fully automatic with the flying pilot monitoring. What you said here is that you have seen for a long time in the simulator, that pilots can fly fully manually no problem, and fully auto no problem, but problems arise when mixing the two, when stress and distraction are present. I also assume that getting low in poor visibility make those two factors appear. This may be as close as it gets to hitting the nail on the head.
HeliComparitor post 1574 page 79. Sterile Cockpit - if this is a rule when the 2 crew don't talk to each other I find this quite worrying, but I guess there is a good reason for it? I would have assumed professional crews knew when to keep quiet and when to talk? Would be interested in what the RAF guys think of this? And the NS pilots.
26500lbs Post 1579, page 79. We have hired co pilots with low hrs due to pilot shortages, I understand this, on the rigs its the same. Another poster above your post also suggests that training to become licensed does not cover the complex automation on the modern large helicopters we use - a worry. Although this is surely easily addressed? I can also see how routine and tedium on long flights in cruise is a worry, and complacency but don't have any answers to this.
I do however have a question. Is the culture in the cockpit such that an inexperienced co pilot has the confidence (I would say duty) to question a Snr captain if he thought he was observing bad practice, or to make a suggestion on how to do something better. I would like to think that even if he asked something stupid, this would be seen as an opportunity for the captain to pass on knowledge and experience?
Crab post 1588 page 80 - agree we must make sure training is sufficient and adequate no matter the cost, but also guard against overtraining - training for trainings sake and generating a new industry. Also you should be able to fail training - often does not happen now as this reflects badly on the training provider. The Norwegian training model posted earlier looks good.
I may be an old cynic, but I don't think a House of Commons select committee or Scottish Parliament ministers will help us learn the lessons and make the required improvements, but hopefully I am wrong.
I like the work being done by the HSSG, although maybe for some of the workforce they are perceived as being too close to the oil companies, even although the unions are represented there.
Hummingfrog, post 1549, page 78. The suggestion all 3 Aberdeen companies need some sort of meeting. I think you need some sort of work group which meets on a regular basis, reviews incidents, near misses and feedback from the crews and the sim instructors, and makes recommendations on procedures, automation etc and shares the learning's. If this could be done under HSSG then even better. Most important things - open minds or as you guys say shields down thinking.
Keep up the excellent debate and exchange of views here.
Sorry for the long post. One other thing, don't shut the curtain so often, it seemed to me to happen more often recently. Some of the non sleeping pax like to watch you guys at work.