Pilots suspended after North Sea helicopter lands on wrong platform

[HeliComparator]

Originally Posted by diginagain

... we tend to rely on people knowing what it is they're shooting an approach-to.

Then clearly you place false reliance on "people". Considering wrong deck landing have been occurring regularly for as long as offshore oil support has been in business, just what will it take to make you realise this?

It is this sort of attitude that prevents safety moving up to the next level. Shame on you

[Offshore Addict]

Dont know what Diginagain is on about regarding Aldis lamps. Been occupying Radio Rooms for a good few years now and never heard of them being allocated for helideck use. Just asked our HLO who muttered something about it not being 1944 and wandered out. I was recently on a new build and they did have "wave off" lights that could be triggered manually for whatever reason, they also activate automatically whenever a platform alarm kicks in. Never seen an Aldis lamp on my travels though.

People make errors, it happens. I have pulled my fair share of facepalm moments out here. Even saw a Phantom land at the wrong airfield before, both runways orientated 09/27 and just a few miles apart. These days crews and engineers at offshore helicopter companies must feel like they operate under a huge magnifying glass, it cant be easy. Personally, as long as the crew get me back to Aberdeen on the day I go off I am happy. If they want to take me somewhere else for a bit and cut my time at work I am all for it. Tenerife would be nice.

I'll bet the crew were annoyed though, missing out on all that food I bet they ordered ..

[diginagain]

HC - as a result of recent events we've seen that pilots are as fallible, and as frangible, as the rest of us.

[HeliComparator]

Originally Posted by diginagain

HC - as a result of recent events we've seen that pilots are as fallible, and as frangible, as the rest of us.

Recent events? So the aviation events of the previous 90 years have passed you by?

[diginagain]

Offshore Addict - I'm surprised. Nothing as per SOLAS Ch.V

a daylight signalling lamp, or other means to communicate by light during day and night using an energy source of electrical power not solely dependent upon the ship's power supply.

[obnoxio f*ckwit]

Nothing as small or antiquated as an Aldis-type lamp. Full intensity dual mode green/red deck lighting, to replace/add to the green perimeter lights.

Normal setting is red, when the HLO is happy that his deck is completely ready, he switches them to green.

Helicopter: "request deck availability"

HLO: "Deck available, lights green"

Helicopter: "check lights, we see red"

HLO: "definitely green"

Helicopter: "where are we then?"

Etc etc

Can't be that difficult.

[John Eacott]

Originally Posted by rotarycat

John,
I didn't think I was castigating and ostracising anyone and that certainly wasn't my intent but I was suggesting that maybe we have to look at ourselves in our professional capacity and look out the window before we land. That's all.

rc,

My response was general in nature: it just happened to appear about the same time as, and followed your, post. Nothing aimed at you personally

obnox,

Simple idea, isn't it? Maybe too simple for the Oil and Gas Industry All this discussion along with a proper peer-reviewed investigation into what actually happened may result in a solution that could put the ball firmly back into the hands of management to instigate that solution.

[JimL]

Work has been done over a projected period on something which is not quite as easy to provide as first imagined. The result of the work was published as a CAA paper in 2003 updated in 2008:

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/2008_01.pdf

Jim

[HeliComparator]

Originally Posted by JimL

Work has been done over a projected period on something which is not quite as easy to provide as first imagined.

Jim

Not really the same thing though Jim. Or at least, it has fallen victim to being run by ideologists, vs designers who understand that everything (that works in practice) is a compromise. The need to ward of helicopters from long range due to a gas leak etc is a different requirement from a device to stop wrong deck landings.

What is in fact required is, for example, a means of turning the otherwise excellent CAA-promoted green deck circle lighting, to red until such time as the HLO gives deck clearance.

By trying to make this project all things to all people - always an impossible task and the death knell of any project - and looking for that elusive perfect solution, the net result is a stalling of the project and no actual implementation of a reasonably effective solution.

[JimL]

Well HC, as I remember, that was exactly what it was for:

The CAA's attention was initially drawn to the issue of helideck status signalling systems as a result of concerns within the industry over 'wrong-rig' landings and their associated safety hazards. A study of offshore platform identification signs, reported in CAA Paper 92006 (Reference [2]), established that there was little prospect of resolving the problem through improvements to the signage and recommended the specification of a new visual aid, the helideck status signalling system.

I understand what you are saying though but had not thought (nor had others) of your unique solution. Would that work by Day?

Jim

[griffothefog]

Sorry guys, but I put the blame firmly on the oil companies. We operate to many platforms off Denmark with next to no visible way of identifying the deck until very short finals due to poor markings, this situation has to be improved as we operate nightly in the winter a morning and evening shuttle service. Familiarity of the field is helpfull, but some of the working rigs as opposed to jack ups are virtually hidden underneath the production modules and many of the legs are not even lit
I am not for one minute defending a crew that doesn't follow their SOP's regarding indenting the platform before landing during the daytime, but come on, there has to be a better and safer solution especially at night in a congested field.
In their defence, the jack ups generally have a huge rig name on there Derrick, which is hard to miss
Anyone got anything constructive to add ???

[check]

A number of years ago in the Dutch sector an oil company put reflective signs on the side of the platforms. The signs were floodlit and along with the landing light day or night they were perfectly visible. Of course the signs are also for marine use and many have block numbers instead of the rig/platform name which did not help!

[HeliComparator]

Originally Posted by JimL

Well HC, as I remember, that was exactly what it was for:


I understand what you are saying though but had not thought (nor had others) of your unique solution. Would that work by Day?

Jim

That was what it was for initially, but the scope was widened to include preventing helis from landing eg when there was a gas leak. As a result of trying to make the scope cover all eventualities, the result was that nothing happened.

However I will have to concede your point about the green circle not working in broad daylight, that is probably the case. But surely a bright omnidirectional light visible in daylight, or other clear visual indicator visible on short finals, is not that difficult to achieve? That it hasn't been achieved strongly suggests that, amongst other things, it is actually not that important.

It would be interesting to analyse all wrong deck landings, but I suspect that nearly all will have occurred following a visual approach. The increased levels of checks occuring during an ARA makes a wrong deck landing from an instrument approach seem very unlikely. With that in mind, a lot of the complexity of the CAA paper can be dispensed with. Just day and night. No need to be able to see it at 900m in a vis of 1400m etc, just before committal point in VMC would be fine. Too much gold plating!

[dommer]

WDL

As a WDL on an offshore installation obviously is considered as a condition which may be hazardous, I am very much in favour of the status lights as described in CAP 437:

Ch 2.3.5 : NOTE: The installation of ‘Status Lights’ systems (see Chapter 4, paragraph 3.6) is not considered to be a solution to all potential flight safety issues arising from hydrocarbon gas emissions; these lights are only a visual warning that the helideck is in an unsafe condition for helicopter operations.

Ch 4.3.6: A visual warning system should be installed if a condition can exist on an installation which may be hazardous for the helicopter or its occupants. The system (Status Lights) should be a flashing red light (or lights), visible to the pilot from any direction of approach and on any landing heading. The aeronautical meaning of a flashing red light is either “do not land, aerodrome not available for landing” or “move clear of landing area”. The system should be automatically initiated at the appropriate hazard level (e.g. impending gas release) as well as being capable of manual activation by the HLO. It should be visible at a range in excess of the distance at which the helicopter may be endangered or may be commencing a visual approach. CAA Paper 2008/01 provides a specification for a status light system which is summarised below:......etc.
Regards
Dommer

[tomotomp]

How about a red flag in the middle of the Helideck

[Boudreaux Bob]

Just how darned difficult is it to mount a commonly used Heliport Rotating Beacon but using Red Lenses to mark the Landing Decks?

Mount one of anyone of these in a safe location adjacent to the Deck and Bob's Yer Uncle.

Lights on....do not land.

No gold plating needed....just some wire, metal work, and done deal.

Any Pilot that cannot see one of these day or night needs to seek alternative employment.



Airport Lighting Company | Beacons

[dommer]

This helideck is not prepared for helicopter operations!

Or this One:
L425EX
Explosion proof ATEX certified LED helideck status (wave-off) light meeting CAP437 requirements. Long life LEDs and light weight design, which incorporates stainless steel mounting facilities and low profile design (<250mm), makes product ideal for easy installation and long maintenance intervals

ORGA - Your products for: Offshore oil & gas - Helideck lighting - Status light systems
Best regards
Dommer

[Owen Shannon]

Owen Shannon

Apologies for a long first post.
With the development of technology, the situational awareness skills requiring heading, time and distance to enable 12 – 15 deck landings on a production run without the use of GPS or equivalent, appear to have gone.Takeoff briefings including, example “right turn to 120 degrees, Market Alpha 9 miles/5 minutes “, etc., don’t appear to be even given a thought.It’s all done for you as one of you suggested. Even long hauls from shore appear to lose the focus required such as may be the case here. And I agree with one post that suggest most WRLs occur in visual conditions.
We’ve all seen the attempts by both operators and companies to prevent WRLs, including flashing lights, name placards, HLO ‘have you in sight’ calls, cockpit procedures, etc.Huge amounts of money have been spent implementing these or reviewing SOPs.
Having several thousand helideck landings under my belt can I appeal to those of you keen to see improvements, for your comments re the following KISS method of helping prevent reoccurrences. It follows the lines of a couple of suggestions - John Eacott (long time John), Obnox, Helicom. It is also based on the principal of noticing something out of the norm on the decks... e.g., a towel, sunbathers (years ago), a straw hat, deck colour, etc.
During a WRL investigation I conducted (and I’ve investigated several) I ‘employed’ a team of highly professional, high time offshore pilots, to advise on my findings and recommendations.From one of these lads came an idea we all thought had merit, so much so in fact that we recommended the subject company take the lead in recommending the same to the industry.
The resultant suggestion was cheap to implement but would need the ‘buy-in’ of the oil companies, and goodness knows, as already suggested, it’s in their interest to do their part in WRL prevention.It appears (from this discussion) that any follow-up done by the subject company has not eventuated.
Every Helideck should have in their ‘crash box’ or some other storage area, a ‘Prohibited Landing’ marker… you know, the 4 meter square signal red panel with the yellow cross that is meant to cover the ‘H’ inside the TD/PM.We all know that these are scarcely used as they are ‘really’ for ‘certain operational or technical reasons an installation may wish to prevent helicopter operations’. Mmmmm, wouldn’t preventing a non-scheduled helicopter from landing meet this criteria?
Leaving these on a helideck when a helicopter is not expected may rot them away pretty quickly in the South East Asian heat and other locations (if a North Sea equivalent wind doesn’t dispatch them sooner) and they could present a hazard should a helicopter have no alternative but to make an emergency landing, as unlikely as that may seem.
Most installations have amongst their equipment, webbed straps of the ratchet tightening variation. With any luck they may have ones that are 3 or 4 (or more) inches wide (wider the better, 4” might be a minimum) and of an appropriate length that two of these could be fastened over the net, over the ‘H’ in the form of a cross in less than a minute. If they are not on board, they retail at less than $200 (size dependent) and could be obtained within a few days. Of course the authorities may wish to standardize such devises and fair enough however if they could keep the KISS principle in mind there is a chance a WRL prevention initiative could move ahead. A simple description of how they should be fastened (diagonally across the bisector of the H might work) and secured to appropriate existing fasteners. The inner ring of helicopter tie down points might be a good place to start. The suggestion is that these be installed by the helideck crew as soon as a helicopter leaves and removed before (just when to be determined) a scheduled helicopter arrives.
Would they be visible before the ‘committed’ or ‘landing’ call is made? Most likely (tests would tell) ... they’d be a lot easier to see than the deck name from certain approach angles. And how many times has the name on a placard been read but not registered as the wrong platform… it has happened. Trials would soon show the appropriate size but anything to begin with would be acceptable, any colour contrasting with the net included (Yellow, or red being initial preferences). The ‘H’ is one of the focal points during such landings and there’s a good chance they would be noticed and understood by our professional colleagues (who understand the meaning of a cross near or on any landing surface).
This could replace the ‘last barrier’ (name of the installation). I'd appreciate you comments.

[EESDL]

might even look forward to this month's Oil n Gas meeting - where they have been prevaricating over clear deck markings for how long??????
Maybe the CAA will make a better job of it...........

[Hedski]

New red v green deck lighting already being tested or installed in Norway. Simple yes or no that way.