UK scoops prestigious award as focus on helicopter safety remains priority
October 2011
The deployment of a world-first flight following system, used to track helicopters flying offshore, has scooped a prestigious award. Wide area multilateration (WAM) was introduced in December 2010 to allow helicopters to be tracked for the first time all the way to and from their destination installation with a high degree of accuracy from the air traffic control tower in Aberdeen.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has been awarded the 2011 Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) Earl F. Ward Memorial Award for their use of the system. The award is presented for outstanding achievement which has added to the quality, safety or efficiency of air traffic control. Nomination of the award was supported by Oil & Gas UK.
The system enhances the safety of air traffic serving offshore oil and gas platforms by providing surveillance coverage in a challenging,remote environment that previously did not have complete radar coverage.
The use of multilateration offshore in the UK had been in development for some time prior to the tragic helicopter crash on 1 April 2009. The Helicopter Task Group – set up in response – played a crucial role in accelerating its delivery, which was eventually overseen by the group’s long-term successor, the Helicopter safety Steering Group (HSSG). The two groups have already overseen the implementation of a raft of other important safety measures.
In September, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published its report on the 2009 ditching of the helicopter carrying workers to the ETAP platform. Action to implement many of the report’s recommendations has already been taken by the former Helicopter Task Group and the HSSG. Apache North Sea’s Alan Chesterman, HSSG co-chair, said: “The industry is committed to learning the lessons from this incident and has been ahead of the game in terms of proactively implementing measures to bolster helicopter safety – some of which have been identified in this report.”
Actions taken include:
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Over 50 offshore sites across the UKCS set up to provide hub station information (cloud, weather, visibility data)
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Substantial increase in the number of industry employees training as meteorological observers on offshore oil and gas installations
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Development of a standardised network of automatic weather reporting equipment on installations to help improve accuracy of offshore weather observations given to helicopter operators
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Improved helideck lighting for circle and H being tested. Improved helideck perimeter lighting already recently introduced
Alan Chesterman continued: “The Helicopter Task Group was instrumental in moving helicopter safety forward in the UK and the Step Change in Safety Helicopter Safety Steering Group must continue to build on this good work.
“The Helicopter Safety Steering Group is made up of committed people from helicopter operators, oil and gas operators and contractors, workforce safety representatives, regulators and trade unions. Around the table we have the enthusiasm and commitment to drive the positive changes needed in order to ensure offshore helicopter travel remains safe and focused on safety improvement.
“The group now looks ahead to the publication of the AAIB’s findings of the tragic crash on 1 April 2009 and acting on the lessons it identifies for the UK oil and gas industry.”
In addition to the projects listed above, the HSSG is involved in other ongoing helicopter safety initiatives. These include the introduction of an advanced anomaly detection system across the UKCS fleet as well as an advanced collision avoidance system to avoid ‘near misses’.
