Health & Safety Report 2017

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HEALTH & SAFETY REPORT 2017
4.3 Offshore Helicopter Reportable Accidents on the UK Continental Shelf
All flight safety occurrences, as deemed reportable by CAA’s CAP 382, are reported to the CAA using the MOR
scheme. There are reports submitted every month, providing constant oversight of safety-related occurrences.
From 1997 to 2016, four fatal accidents claimed the lives of 38 offshore workers and flight crew. Two accidents
were caused by catastrophic component failure and two attributed to human factors. Sixteen reportable
non-fatal accidents have also occurred since 1997. The causes include major component failures, pilot error,
lightning strikes, major airframe damage, and main and tail rotor damage. In most cases, only the helicopter was
damaged but, infrequently, these accidents have resulted in injury to personnel.
After almost three accident-free years, a non-fatal accident occurred in 2016. As a result, the UKCS’ five-year
average all accident rate has increased from 0.72 to 0.95 per 100,000 flying hours. The accident rate data show
that the five-year average for fatal accidents sits consistently below 0.2 per 100,000 flying hours.
The following graphs illustrate the distribution of UKCS fatal and all reportable accidents from 1997 to 2016, as
well as fatal and all accident rates per 100,000 flying hours.
Figure 20: Fatal and All Accidents Distribution
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
0
1
2
3
4
5
19971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016
Number of Flying Hours Number of Accidents
Fatal Accidents
All Accidents
Flying hours
Source: Oil & Gas UK