A report from Oil & Gas UK suggests offshore helicopter operations on the UK shelf are relatively safe, compared with other regions.
Offshore staff
LONDON --A report from Oil & Gas UK suggests offshore helicopter operations on the UK shelf are relatively safe, compared with other regions.
The report, which updates information published by Britain's Health & Safety Executive in 2003, is based on 30 years of data from 1977-2006. During the period 1996-2005, the authors say, there was one fatal accident involving a helicopter flight over UK waters. Over the same period, there were 63 offshore helicopter accidents with fatalities worldwide.
In Dec. 2006, there was a fatal crash in the Morecambe Bay field in the Irish Sea. But Oil & Gas UK's Chris Allen says: "If we compare current performance with that of the first decade (1977-1986), a significant improvement has taken place.
"This has been achieved through the introduction of modern helicopter types, combined with extensive research into improving offshore helicopter safety which has resulted in several significant safety initiatives."
