Originally Posted by
BlackIsle
.... well I'm glad it's not just me, I managed Sumburgh Airport a good few years ago and am dumbstruck by suggestions of sea state criteria perhaps not applying to flights to land-based destinations?
Well the point is that helicopters aren't supposed to fall into the sea during an onshore instrument approach. They have sufficient speed to fly happily on one engine until over the runway. Whereas offshore, they have to slow down to below OEI flight speed before landing, whilst at the same time crossing over all sorts of nasty jagged metal bits.
OEI flight is, as we know, the only malfunction the CAA concern themselves with.
Which is just as well because if they contemplated the need to ditch immediately (not that this ever happens ... Ahem!) they would stop us from flying over land in weather where the cloud / fog was on the surface and especially over mountains when the cloudbase was below mountain top height.
Doh, I think I've blown it now...