In the absence of any information from a credible official source, time to read the Nigerian press. I have nothing more than a passing interest in this incident, based on my knowledge and experience of offshore S76 operations in a previous life.
Crash Of Bristow Helicopter: Flight Crew Absolved Of Blame | Sahara Reporters
In the event of an accident or serious incident, there is often a very limited amount of factual information that can be released. That said, it is always important to ensure that appropriately accurate facts can be updated and released to establish the fundamental events leading to the accident/incident - especially if there are no fatalities and the human accounts can be verified. The aim is not to try and identify the cause of the accident or to short-cut the investigation, but to ensure you have continued credibility and control of the
facts regarding the situation, whilst ensuring appropriate respect for everyone involved. It needs to be done in conjunction with the Investigating Authority, local Government agencies, manufacturer, (as appropriate) and any other credible resource that should be included in a statement of fact.
In the event you miss the opportunity, the void will be filled with conjecture, assumptions, nonsense, lies, hatred, sour grapes, axe-grinding and suspicions of a cover up (for those so inclined).
When the Nigerian AIB is releasing information to the local media and the Operator isn't releasing the same information to the global media, something is wrong in the communication process.
Your customers and employees continue to fly in these aircraft, and deserve some accurate information for themselves and their families to assure them that their safety is your primary concern - not an accident count. The passengers in the back of your helicopters have already undergone HUET training and understand the implications very clearly.
It might appear that the corporate communications team may be experts at providing information to shareholders and other corporate customers, but need to learn a bit more (try involving your flight crews) in dealing with an actual incident of this nature. The initial press release describing a "water landing" by a non-amphibious helicopter (utilizing emergency floats) were utterly incredulous and sent entirely the wrong message in the initial information. It is similar to another major operator that attempted to categorize a machine rolling over and another self destructing as it hit a lamp post as not accidents because the helicopter wasn't flying!
Here's a reference on ditching for your future benefit.
Ditching: Rotary Wing Aircraft - SKYbrary Aviation Safety
And finally, every operator has an emergency response plan. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate it and compare it to the free guide that IATA produces, which contains some equally relevant considerations about Social media and even PPRuNe specifically.
https://www.iata.org/publications/Do...-april2013.pdf
And just in case you're wondering (and still reading), yes, I have unfortunately been through all this before in real life.
I'm glad there were no serious injuries, and genuinely hope that appropriate steps can be taken to ensure no repetition of a similar event (for whatever reason) and that the everyone involved can get on with their careers and get over some of the particularly vile and demeaning things that have been said on here and elsewhere.