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A precondition for a holistic, systemic and systematic management of offshore helicopter operations’ safety is an in-depth understanding of the corresponding system. This is essential because the components and the interactions between these components largely shape system and human performance, with the potential to create safety hazards and risks. However, current techniques of system component description in aviation are poorly specified, which contributes to a silo approach to hazard identification and risk analysis, poor safety management and missed safety targets. This paper addresses this shortcoming by developing a novel process to characterise the component-based system architecture of commercial air operations and implementing the process to create the Offshore Helicopter Transportation System Model. The paper discusses the theoretical justifications for generating such a system model and the shortcomings of the techniques currently recommended. In order to redress these, the process combines two task analysis techniques to derive an unbiased seminal system model, which is then compared to relevant models in the safety literature to ensure completeness. The process and resulting system model are validated by carefully selected subject matter experts during training sessions in high-fidelity flight simulators. The process can be applied to describe, by means of a system model, the activities of other industries in the aviation domain. Moreover, the model derived provides, for the first time, the necessary anchoring for future safety analyses in offshore helicopter operations.

The analysis of risks per phases of flight is fundamental for safe helicopter operations, of which night-time offshore oil- and gas-related missions form an important part. The safe execution of such missions also depends on pilots’ recent flying practice and a stable visual approach segment prior to landing. However, the poor quality of the safety data currently available prevents accurate analysis of risk on a per-phase-of-flight basis, establishment of a meaningful flying recency requirement and identification of any preferable visual approach design. To redress these problems, this paper develops a bespoke taxonomy of phases of offshore helicopter flights and uses it as the basis for a questionnaire survey on the phase-specific risk levels experienced by pilots in the night-time, perceived optimal flying recency requirement and preferred visual approach design. With the responses obtained from pilots located in seven countries, extensive statistical hypothesis testing shows that the phases involving visual scan techniques at high speed regimes are problematic, especially the visual segment of instrument approaches. Moreover, the between-night-flights time gaps required for assured flying recency were found considerably shorter than currently standardised across the industry. Finally, no preferred visual approach technique was identified. A number of important implications have been highlighted and should form the basis for future safety interventions.

Analysis of helicopter accidents is fundamental to the development of effective mitigation measures. However, there are significant weaknesses in the current methods. This paper proposes a new structured framework for the analysis of accidents in helicopter operations, which includes the determination of the appropriate timeframe for analysis, establishment of terminological definitions, identification of the relevant accident variables and data sources, and the execution of a three-fold statistical analysis strategy. It is implemented in the context of worldwide offshore helicopter operations, enabling the identification of a number of areas for priority intervention including the need for a global harmonisation of accident data capture and dissemination, causal factor-based metrics for the calculation of accident rates, better pilot support for night-time and arrival operations, and a new safety paradigm to mitigate rare accidents. The framework is recommended for the analysis of helicopter accidents and incidents to support safety improvement.

Several hazardous industries have embraced Heinrich's premise that incidents of negligible safety consequences are precursors to accidents in a statistical sense. However, in few such industries has research verified the truth of that assumption. This paper explores the relationships between accidents and reported incidents in the context of oil and gas–related offshore helicopter operations by using the accident investigation reports published by the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch and the incidents filed under the British Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme between 1997 and 2010. Classification frameworks were developed to enable the independent analysis of accidents and incidents in relation to specific variables of interest. Frequencies and statistical associations that could have indicated the precursor relationship were explored. From the results of the analysis, the paper highlights potentially severe shortcomings in the assumptions underpinning incident data collection as well as the process with which incident data are generated. For example, the paper unveils the existence of sudden failures that cannot be reliably anticipated or reported and draws attention to a potentially flawed incident-reporting culture. Given the results, the paper informs stakeholders in the industry of specific initiatives to ensure that the right lessons are learned from past occurrences (e.g., through ways of collecting incident data that will not rely solely on reporters) and how these could be used to inform future interventions, for example, through the analysis of potential consequences of incidents, as a complement to the analysis of frequencies.

When visibility is poor offshore helicopter operations are prone to accidents. Given that a significant increase in night-time activities is predicted in the near future, this paper proposes a systemic approach to account for all the factors underlying such accidents. It presents the results of accident analysis and interviews of pilots from five different scenarios using cognitive task analysis, followed by rigorous application of Grounded Theory and Template Analysis to the narratives. The results are used to compile a comprehensive list of the factors that affect the ability of pilots to fly at night. These factors should form the basis for future data collection and safety interventions.

Accident rates for night sorties, by helicopters operating offshore, are estimated to be five times higher than for daytime. Recent attempts to redress this problem include new instrument descent procedures and changes to helideck lighting. However, there still remains a need for pilots to transition from automated flight to a manually flown night visual segment during the arrival, and three recent accidents have again highlighted the dangers of this phase. In order to explore what factors affect safety during night visual segments 33 semi-structured interviews were administered to pilots from a number of companies, and grounded theory was employed to analyse the narratives. From this, a template was developed representing pilots’ perceptions of factors affecting safety, and the relationships among factors were hypothetically mapped. Visual spatial disorientation figured as the main concern of participants, stemming from substandard pilot communication, loss of scanning skills during summer months, autopilot limitations, and the requirement to fly to too low meteorological minima. Concerted actions and further areas of research have been proposed to the different stakeholders involved in offshore nighttime operations, going beyond ongoing safety initiatives.

Accident rates for night sorties by helicopters traveling to offshore oil and gas platforms are at least five times higher than those during the daytime. Because pilots need to transition from automated flight to a manually flown night visual segment during arrival, the approach and landing phases cause great concern. Despite this, in Brazil, regulatory changes have been sought to allow for the execution of offshore night flights because of the rapid expansion of the petroleum industry. This study explores the factors that affect safety during night visual segments in Brazil using 28 semi-structured interviews with offshore helicopter pilots, followed by a template analysis of the narratives. The relationships among the factors suggest that flawed safety oversights, caused by a combination of lack of infrastructure for night flights offshore and declining training, currently favor spatial disorientation on the approach and near misses when close to the destination. Safety initiatives can be derived on the basis of these results.