Squib,

I did not say I was there at the accident scene when it happened. Thus your quote of "I was there" is incorrect.

Perhaps, it was "second hand" as you suggest....but it came directly to me from the individuals that held the bits in their hands and did the inspection before and after the event. Their recounting of their actions was "first hand" to me.....and not by means of a third party.

How many people telling you the same thing independently does it take to form the opinion they are both telling the truth and are agreeing upon what they are saying?

Perhaps we can get someone at Bristow to pull up the accident report and tell us the final determination arrived at by the investigation.

I wasn't at the jobsite at the time of the accident anymore then you were. I only repeat what I was told. I was told this by MR and JB, but I was not there at the time. I have no need to get into a long distance argument. You heard one thing, I heard another...

MR and JB - there's a couple names I haven't run in to lately! Last I heard it was a B&B in west of Scotland and the other somewhere in Florida.

I spoke with Joe just a few weeks ago. He is living in Floriday and is doing well. I haven't spoken to Mike in many years. If you remember Freddie, he also is doing well and traveling back and forth between Tehran, LA and Denver where he has family.

I received an email this morning from an engineer involved with the event in question. He stated there was an overtorque, the pilot downplayed the event, the incident was reported to Tehran, the Area Engineer said to take a look at it and if nothing was found to leave the aircraft serviceable. That was done.

The tail rotor gearbox failed without the aircraft coming into contact with the tower.

The prior over torque was not mentioned in the accident report and the Engineers involved in the matter wrote a joint letter detailing what had happened and company policy was changed to require compliance with techncal manuals for all future over torques.

I hope this puts this matter to rest.

This engineer is one of the signers of that letter and was directly involved in
maintenance of the particular aircraft in question at the time of the accident.


Whose travel money is Freddie using for his trips these days?

From the old :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...g-scan0007.jpg
to the new...:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...g/P1180512.jpg

For once Nigeria Civil aviation was helpful and might I say efficient - but it still took weeks of bumbling bureaucratic bull**** by the oil majors to get her flying. First commercial S92 flight in Nigeria on Monday - watch this space.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...g/P1180515.jpg
Me????? No!!!! I'll be flying the desk.:yuk:

Nice one!

What type of helicopter is that in the old picture?

A few more from Duri
 

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...Durilineup.jpg
Yet another Sunday morning photoshoot with Bristow-Masayu's finest...

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3..._51/PK-HCH.jpg
PK-HCH on arrival at Duri from Badak. We painted it green and sold it to some mob in PNG whose name escapes me. It was the only dual hydraulics 205 we had. The others were all single system, complete with all the cyclic feedback problems and 'jo-seal' changes.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3..._51/PK-HBI.jpg
PK-HBI on a compass swing at the Duri airstrip that never was.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3..._51/PK-HCC.jpg
And the other 206, PK-HCC departing Duri.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...1/JPwithNN.jpg
Mrs B and Nick Nothnagel about to go on a 'test flight'. Mrs B looking rather dubiously at the collective going up and down.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...DaveThomas.jpg
Dave Thomas.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3..._51/Check2.jpg
The first of the Bell 212 Check 2's at Duri. When Badak folded (84-ish?), BMH convinced Caltex that they really needed the 212 so the 205's were phased out and sold off.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3..._51/DTGCCT.jpg
Dave Thomas, George Cunningham and Chris Tait, relax after a gruelling day in the tropics.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...wchangeday.jpg
Crew change day. L-R Chris Tait, Me, Jess Bermudez, Geoff Steward and 'Pops' Elopre.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3.../GarudaF28.jpg
And having survived the two and a half hour bus ride to Rumbai and Pekanbaru, we then diced with death while the teenagers in the cockpit of the Garuda F28 joined up the red dots on the weather radar to take us back to Singapore.:eek:

looks like a russion one, MI8?

That's what I was thinking.

And another stupid question, what are the fishing rods for? Aerial? Super accurate Pitots? My money is on aerial.

Aerial is correct! For HF-Radio!

HF aerials.

Alan,
How is Mr Tait doing? I had the pleasure of working with him all too briefly before he retired.

Alan

Great photos as always. I never tire of looking at your posts.

TTO

Mr. Tait was an excellent worker.....when cornered!

He is a true Gentleman....and married to a lovely lady.

If I can figure out how to post pics on here, I will attach them from the time I joined Bristow's in 1968. Got a few gathering dust somewhere which could be of interest!! Still flying and enjoying it........

Thanks for the latest photos Alan, more memories of Duri in the early 80's recalled!

Occasionally see Dave Thomas as he lives a couple of miles from me.

Note to self: Must dig out some piccies and add to the thread. (Some old S North Sea ones from the 70's.)

Tip Cap

See Image posting on PPRuNe: a guide for how to post images.

Alternatively PM me if you would like me to host them for you. (I'll email you my email address & you can send them to me as jpegs. I'll send you the URL for inserting into your post.) The same goes for anyone else who would like me to host their Bristow Photos for them.

TTO

Silverstone 1988
 

Finally managed to get some slides scanned for this great topic.

Silverstone 1988 will be remembered for the following: -
1. Professional North Sea Pilots mistaking a disused airfield (Grafton Underwood?) for Northampton (Sywell).
2. Bad weather with cloud base going below 500' before CAA closed Silverstone Airfield. We were allowed to fly in (twin engine helicopters only) during the race to catch up with the passenger backlog.
3. Only RNAV 2 equipped Tiger kept getting lost meaning those of us with jump seats fitted were carrying a 20th suitably briefed passenger.
4. 214ST spent most of the weekend U/S.

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_01.jpg
G-TIGJ parked at Milton waiting for Silverstone Airfield to re-open.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_02.jpg
G-TIGB, G-TIGJ & G-TIGC parked in South Park.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_03.jpg
G-BGWJ parked on one of the hotspots.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_04.jpg
G-TIGS, working for Marlboro, parked at a hotspot.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_05.jpg
Line-up of Bristow's, British International Helicopters, and the lone Irish Helicopters SK61N.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_06.jpg
The line-up from a different angle with a BIH Chinook just arriving.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_07.jpg
The Bristow vantage point during the race.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...one1988_08.jpg
We had to give G-TIGJ to another crew on the Monday, and the Tiger we inherited at Newcastle went U/S on start-up, so ended up being delivered to Aberdeen in the 214ST. Downwind right for 17, with one engine in manual throttle - note the lack of fixed-wing then!!

Muara Tembesi, Indonesia, 1988
 

2nd half of 1988 some of the Duri-based 212s went to Muara Tembesi to support a heli-rigging operation. The rig (forgotten it's name) had come from PNG and had been previously lifted by SA330Js. Thus some of it was well above the contract limit of 4,000lbs, and in addition the sites chosen were in hilly terrain so a level flyaway was not an option either. Thus the 212s struggled a bit.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_01.jpg
The all important ground team - hook-up man, marshaller & Loadmaster.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_02.jpg
PK-HCK, the IFR 212 for the night stand-by & callouts to Singapore. Had weather radar & SFENA fitted, which occasionally worked properly.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_03.jpg
A 212 earning its money. This photo made it onto one of the Bristow calenders when they asked for employee contributions.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_04.jpg
PK-HCF with an example of the poor flyaway, plus cabin doors removed to save a bit of weight as well.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_05.jpg
The office - PK-HCF, one of the 3 VFR 212s based at Duri.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_06.jpg
The final staging area, with portacabins waiting to be trucked out.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_07.jpg
An empty rig site, Kapas, at the end of the rig move.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_08.jpg
Muara Tembesi with hangar and adjoining portacabin camp. Other 212s already left for Duri.
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...Tembesi_09.jpg
End of detachment. The remaining team about to see off PK-HCF for Duri, via Rumbai.