I honestly don’t know the latest, but I think they were stood down for a period but have resumed since.

Perhaps the new SPDC Aviation Manager has a lower safety threshold ?

NEO

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/...licopter-pilot

Never mind Boko Haram!

A couple of EOIs posted for bristow is anyone is interested

Its really funny to read this reports
It was not the Co-pilot, was the Captain that got shot and after stabbed during a fight with the attacker. The attacker was a military that stole a weapon from another went to the heli and first shot one of the PAX and then with the intervention of the pilot shot and stab him.

But in the end....just another day in nigeria

Was the captain shot? I know the gun jammed and the soldier used his bayonet to stab him (having seen the military and police at close range over many years, the gun jamming is no surprise!!). Co-Pilot ran and hid in the long grass until the attacker was himself shot.

Life in Escravos
 

Wondering if anyone’s got any current info about life in Escravos? Accommodation/food/recreation facilities etc
For anyone who’s worked there, likes/dislikes/stories?
Thanks

Life in Escravos
 

Howzit all, I've been back in Escravos for several months, now under Bristows. Things are moving forward, and 2 x 135s will be added very soon. Accommodation is great (I'm in block 12 now), and block 18 is the same. Great atmosphere and good relationship with Chevron, so overall its enjoyable. Food is the onely thing that's gone downhill and there's no cooking facilities, but Bristow kindly fly down KFC and pizza's for staff on a regular basis 👍🏼. Not so many expats nowadays but that could change as Operations build up and national content isn't enough for the demand! They have a great gym, lots of people ride a bicycle around (myself included🙄🤣😂), there's limited DSTV and no WiFi, but data is cheap. Overall, a great team, great client, nice machines and great money🙂 Hope this helps and they are hiring

I was there 99-00, a long time ago but other than Mama Lulu's and the other commercial concerns accessed through the turnstile gate being evicted I doubt much has changed. 28/28, high hours shuttling between platforms/jackets, booze only available via the black market. Food variable but plentiful. Gym, squash and basketball courts, lots of people jog up and down the one road that runs the length of the camp.

I was in a 212 as night standby, stayed overnight and returned to Warri each morning. Pan African had the main Chevron contract. Some of the pilots had been there 20+ years and had over 25,000 hours on 206 ! Many of the engineers were long term too. When OLOG came in and then Bristow Group had it a lot of the older guys left.

Much water under the bridge since then..... but it's a camp in the bush so there can't be much they can alter !

NEO

Thanks NEO, much appreciated

I was in a similar situation as NEO, although his description of the food is quite kind! They were nominally on 28/28 but typically used to time out at 100 hrs before then, so often left after 20 ish days. Very early starts too. I recall there was actually a bar in the camp, but as we were doing night standby I never used it. No idea how it is now, but I don't think it's particularly great - I have an ex-colleague LAE who was stuck there in 202, and his FB posts did not indicate that he was enjoying his stay!

Thanks 212man

Ah yes.....Escravos....what an interesting place and night standby....and an incredibly ill planned evolution.

The over night standby living quarters was grim even by Bristow Bachelor Acommodation Standards at that time.

The food was pretty good as I recall especially as it was a fully catered affair.

As to Night Life...there was none due to two factors....the task was Night Standby....and that there basically was none other than that mentioned earlier by some or a good book.

We flew in late in the afternoon....shut down...dropped our gear in the black mold covered sleeping quarters....grabbed a decent meal....then prayed there would be no call out as at that point in race down hill we were flying clapped out Bell 212's and being told we would fly in the dark during rainy season to airports that were usually closed with no SAR back up or effective Flight Following.

I never served that detail witt the remotest idea I would actually go fly due to having had more than enough heart stopping excitement in the past and thinking risking one life against several was not the way it should be.

Had the system had adequate safeguards with a decent safety standard that would have been a different matter but it was not.

We had Pilots assigned to that duty that had never been to any of the offshore landing sites or the onshore destinations....conducting IMC operations using such a standard seemed to be asking quite a bit from the Crews.

Night Medical Evacuation flights in Nigeria had a reputation of the "Emergency Patient" arriving at the aircraft up right and mobile toting a large suitcase of his pilfered "Chop".

A Bell 412 disappeared one night on one of these Medical Evacuation flights (not from the site being discussed) and was not known to be missing till the receiving hospital called the next morning wanting to know when the aircraft would arrive.

Perhaps NEO or 212 Man can fill in the details about the lost Bell 412 and all of the occupants.

Surely the living conditions have improved..

Sasless,

Never mind all that flattery, tell us what you REALLY think ?! ;) :ok:

NEO

You probably know as much as we do, but maybe not that an AIB report was actually published: https://aib.gov.ng/wp-content/upload...nal-report.pdf

I wouldn't bet on it!

In the accident report it says:
"Less than five minutes after the helicopter lifted off from SEDCO Energy Platform, the radio operator received a brief and unclear message from the helicopter. The radio operator tried to establish contact with the helicopter but there was no response. Relevant agencies were immediately notified, and a search and rescue mission launched by Chevron Nigeria Limited, Pan Ocean Limited, and Pan African Airlines."

I was told SASless's version that it wasn't till the next morning they were aware the aircraft hadn't returned from it's medevac, also wonder what was used as a SAR asset because at that time AFAIK there was no offshore SAR capability in Nigeria except an AS332L for LIMSAR on the SNEPCO Bonga contract and a small boat which they positioned halfway between Snake Island and the Bonga field.

Also in the report vis 100m in fog when they landed, amazing job in that B412 if that was the case!

IIRC one of the pilots was the Ops Manager who was uncurrent ? There were errors, oversights and gaps too numerous to list. Claasic Swiss cheese accident.

NEO

I don't know where that comes from - they also say that the HLO reported 7km vis when they made contact.

Report says both current.

The NTSB report appendix clearly comments on the facts that we all heard at the time, which indicates the LH cabin door detached and hit the tail rotor, but the body of the AIB report fails to give this any analysis!
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