Safety performance of helicopter operations in

the oil & gas industry 2007 data

Report No. 424
August 2009

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

ublications

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Safety performance of helicopter operations in the oil & gas industry

1 Introduction
The report presents the safety performance of that part of the helicopter industry involved in E&P operations during 2007.
The report is based on submissions from helicopter operators worldwide. The OGP membership acknowledges the support
of these organisations, without which this report could not have been produced.

Measuring safety and operational performance

The method used in this report for measuring safety performance relative to the number of aircraft hours, flights, and fatal/
nonfatal accidents is the same as used by regulatory authorities such as the UK CAA, US FAA, the insurance industry and
the oil industry. The definition of an aviation accident is the same as that used by the regulatory authority for the country for
which the data are gathered. As such, some incidents may be reported as accidents by some countries, but not by others. We
do our best to report those serious incidents in the report narrative, but not in the statistical analysis. Since incidents are not
necessarily reported, it would be difficult to track all occurrences and differences. Therefore, only confirmed accidents are
reported statistically. All countries do, however, count a fatal occurrence as an accident, so a comparison of fatal rates is especially valid. The data for the offshore oil industry segment is the most complete, and believed to be most accurate statistically.
There are countries for which the data accumulated are incomplete, but the accidents for those areas have been included, so
the accident rates, if anything, are overstated.

Highlights of 2007 data

Operational Data
The total number of flights reported was 2.9 million of which 58% were associated with single engine helicopters and 93%
with offshore activity. 9.7 million passengers were flown, which is approximately 7% more than the previous year.
47% of the offshore flights were flown in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), 8% in the North Sea and 45% in other regions. In terms
of hours flown offshore, 42% were flown in the GoM, 12% in the North Sea and 47% in other regions. Average offshore flight
durations for the three regions are 19 minutes, 32 minutes and 22 minutes respectively.

Accident Data
A total of 19 helicopter accidents were reported, with 26 fatalities. The total number of accidents was 8 less than the previous
year. The number of fatalities increased over the previous year by 18%. The two worst accidents each resulted in 6 fatalities
each when the helicopters crashed into terrain/water with one occurring during the night time.
Among the primary accident causes were the following:
5 of the helicopter accidents were obstacle strikes (3 helideck, 2 non-helideck)
4 had unknown causes
3 occurred due to engine related problems
2 were crashes into terrain or water
2 were due to failure of pilot procedures
Associated accident factors:
14 accidents were associated with single engine/pilot helicopters.
Aviation accident rates associated with pipeline activity were considerably higher than those associated with other activity.

Acknowledgement
The contributon made by Bob Williams of Exxon Mobil Corp. towards the collection and analysis of data presented in this
report is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes
As a service to OGP membership, this world-wide helicopter statistical report is compiled annually from information submitted voluntarily by the membership and helicopter operators. The information is neither verified nor reviewed for accuracy
and should be treated as unofficial. The data are believed to be representative; however, OGP assumes no liability for accuracy
or completeness. There are some minor variations in totals due to rounding in formulas in the master database.

2009 OGP

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

2009 OGP

96
4
1
7
8
116
105
96
91
98

448
56
25
41
51
621
600
614
588
644

435
5
4
9
32
485
463
475
465
483

Medium twin (MT)

2009 OGP

986,010
62,061
12,013
34,689
48,864
1,143,637
1,060,953
1,011,169
974,229
996,547

Total fleet

43
786
1,091
1,082

860

2,381

8,131

Annual Hours Per Aircraft

Flights Per Aircraft

Pax Flown Per Year

Pax per day/5 day week data: assume 260 days

236

Flights Per Day

22

329

35,870

Pax per Day/5 Day Week

7,483

Seismic

Offshore

Averages Per Helicopter

Avg. Flight Duration in Min.

1,147
79
31
59
127
1,443
1,383
1,393
1,345
1,442

Total fleet

394

357

388

65

30

47

Geophysical

493

356

588

99

58

112

Pipeline

9,326,136
85,486
12,199
29,105
210,098
9,663,024
9,333,051
8,784,960
8,461,030
8,828,210

Total fleet

9,326,136
85,486
12,199
29,105
210,098
9,663,024
9,333,051
8,784,960
8,461,030
8,828,210

986,010
62,061
12,013
34,689
48,864
1,143,637
1,060,953
1,011,169
974,229
996,547

Hours flown
2,731,154
86,211
11,057
20,999
86,039
2,935,460
2,742,911
2,636,581
2,499,759
2,735,271

Number of flights

1,654

677

385

34

236

808

Other support

6,696

2,034

793

23

8,042

37,165

Total fleet
2,731,154
86,211
11,057
20,999
86,039
2,935,460
2,742,911
2,636,581
2,499,759
2,735,271

World-wide

Number of flights per type helicopter

Medium twin Heavy twin
Single engine (SE) Light twin (LT)
(MT)
(HT)
1,561,004
115,246
756,693
298,211
76,234
1,019
412
8,546
8,213
1,534
765
545
15,645
2,431
1,134
1,789
32,435
3,425
33,456
16,723
1,693,531
123,655
792,460
325,814
1,574,298
100,285
815,575
252,753
1,522,077
97,683
796,369
220,452
1,415,204
94,933
775,997
213,625
1,445,837
95,075
919,575
274,784

Fleet data
Passengers carried

Passengers (PAX) per type helicopter

Single engine
Medium twin Heavy twin
Light twin (LT)
(SE)
(MT)
(HT)
2,176,238
286,754
4,367,534
2,495,610
64,456
2,387
6,456
12,187
8,312
1,102
0
2,785
13,145
3,156
11,456
1,348
49,876
5,134
98,965
56,123
2,312,027
298,533
4,484,411
2,568,053
2,225,576
223,526
4,247,493
2,636,456
2,055,069
202,763
4,154,320
2,372,808
1,923,042
195,961
4,079,459
2,262,568
2,298,843
208,695
4,388,531
1,932,141

2007 world-wide helicopter fleet operational data

Offshore
Seismic
Geophysical
Pipeline
Other
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

Hours per type helicopter

Single engine
Medium twin Heavy twin
Light twin (LT)
(SE)
(MT)
(HT)
386,543
38,543
379,812
181,112
56,012
450
4,476
1,123
10,135
435
987
456
22,345
4,321
6,234
1,789
17,534
2,198
11,256
17,876
492,569
45,947
402,765
202,356
402,417
45,791
424,285
188,460
404,885
40,859
380,225
185,200
387,954
38,383
371,146
176,746
402,107
38,025
373,610
182,805

168
14
1
2
36
221
215
208
201
217

Heavy twin (HT)

2007 world-wide helicopter operational data details

Offshore
Seismic
Geophysical
Pipeline
Other
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

Light twin (LT)

Single engine (SE)

Type & number of helicopters

2007 world-wide helicopter operational data summary

Safety performance of helicopter operations in the oil & gas industry

Appendix A Operational data

# Fatal

1
4
0
2
3
10
9
7
7
13

# Accidents

1
13
0
2
3
19
27
27
20
35

0
3
0
0
0
3
7
7
4
6

# Eng Related

2
12
0
3
6
23
28
39
34
70

Pax

Injuries

1
10
0
2
7
20
15
18
15
23

Crew

2009 OGP

5
0
0
2
3
10
9
7
7
13

10
0
1
3
5
19
27
27
20
35

Offshore
Seismic
Geophysical
Pipeline
Other Spt
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

0
0
1
1
1
3
7
7
4
6

# Eng Related

7
0
0
4
12
23
28
39
34
70

Pax

Injuries

10
0
0
1
9
20
15
18
15
23

Crew

Single Pist.
Single Turb
Light Twin
Med. Twin
Hvy. Twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Engine
related

0
3
0
0
0
3
7
7
4
5

Ttl

10
0
1
5
3
19
27
27
20
35

0
0
0
0
1
1
3
5
2
4

Other tech

Technical causes

0
2
0
0
0
2
0
5
4
9

0
0
0
0
2
2
4
1
3
4

0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0

Misc. Pilot Flight Into Tie Down

Proc.
Terrain, Water Proc.

Pilot procedure related

1
4
0
0
0
5
0
2
2
7

Obstacle
Strike

6
0
0
1
10
17
21
37
23
41

Injured

Injury classification
Severity

2007 world-wide helicopter accident causes/info

# Fatal

# Accidents

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

External
Load
Proced.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
3

11
0
0
4
11
26
22
20
26
52

Fatal

0
16
0
1
0
17
21
37
23
41

Injured

Injury classification

2007 world-wide helicopter accident data by activity

Type
Aircraft
Single Piston
Single Turbine
Light Twin
Med Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

2007 world-wide helicopter accident data

3
6
0
4
13
26
22
20
26
52

Fatal

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
2

Minor

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0

Fuel Starv

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
2

Minor

7
0
1
2
5
15
14
17
11
20

0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0

0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0

1.01
0.00
8.32
8.65
10.23
1.66
2.54
2.67
2.05
3.51

# Acc 100k
Hours

0
0
0
0
0
0
5
1
0
0

Mid Air

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0

Refuel
Quality

0.51
0.00
0.00
5.77
6.14
0.87
0.85
0.69
0.72
1.30

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Aviation accident rates

# Acc 100k Flt
Stages

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1

Pax Cont.

0.84
0.00
0.00
75.43
31.76
1.90
1.67
1.61
2.18
4.08

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0

Weather/
lightening

0.37
0.00
9.04
14.29
5.81
0.65
0.98
1.02
0.80
1.28

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

0
2
0
2
0
4
4
2
3
2

Unk

102
0
0
2,203
1,520
181
170
142
145
294

Incidents (IFAIR)

Helideck
#Fatal Due To
Design or Size
Engine Malf.
Issues
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
4
0
6
0
6

224
0
0
4,406
5,575
472
416
404
539
1,178

Accidents (IFAR)

Industry Fatal Rates per 100M Exposure

Hrs Psgrs/Crew

Rates believed to be significantly higher, but activity levels are unknown

2.64
0.81
1.50
0.77
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.50
0.50
0.66
0.25
1.48
1.48
4.04
0.92
1.66
0.87
1.90
0.65
2.54
0.85
1.67
0.98
2.67
0.69
1.61
1.02
2.05
0.72
2.18
0.80
3.51
1.30
4.08
1.28

# Acc 100k Hours

Aviation accident rates

1
9
0
2
3
15
14
17
11
20

Total Loss

Hostile Fire

Other causes

Total Loss

Hard Ldg Loose cargo

3
0
0
1
0
4
12
10
7
13

Major

0
4
0
0
0
4
12
10
7
13

Major

Aircraft damages classification

Aircraft damages classification

Severity

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

387
61
448
439
451
433
454

61
35
96
91
84
80
86

Light twin (LT)

Numbers of helicopters by type

Medium twin (MT)
Heavy twin (HT)
31
66
123
35
281
67
435
168
426
160
439
154
431
146
444
155

112,849
410,797
462,364
986,010
895,259
883,433
853,489
867,326

Total fleet

2009 OGP

N.Sea
5,308
584
32

GoM
11,360
3,546
19

World
35,870
7,483
22

# Fatal

2
0
1
2
5
4
3
6
11

# Accidents

7
0
1
2
10
14
15
12
27

Type Aircraft

Single Eng
Light Twin
Med Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Aircraft Category
Number of accidents

0
0
0
0
0
4
2
3
3

# Eng Related

4
0
0
3
7
14
22
25
55

Pax

Injuries

5
0
1
4
10
7
9
9
18

Crew

6
0
0
0
6
10
23
9
24

Injured

Severity

3
0
1
7
11
11
8
25
49

Fatal

Minor

0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2

GoM
678
2,136
4,874

3
0
0
0
3
5
4
3
10

Major

4
0
1
2
7
8
11
9
15

Total Loss

Aircraft damages classification

N.Sea
1,163
2,197
14,226

1,379,968
2,953,484
4,992,684
9,326,136
9,023,207
8,490,290
8,187,376
8,486,838

Total fleet

112,849
410,797
462,364
986,010
895,259
883,433
853,489
867,326

1,379,968
2,953,484
4,992,684
9,326,136
9,023,207
8,490,290
8,187,376
8,486,838

213,069
1,294,141
1,223,944
2,731,154
2,531,180
2,417,885
2,292,876
2,464,477

Number of
flights

1.81
0.00
0.26
1.10
1.01
1.56
1.70
1.41
3.11

# Acc 100k Hours

World
860
2,381
8,131

0.52
0.00
0.26
1.10
0.51
0.45
0.34
0.70
1.27

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

0.80
0.00
0.17
2.26
0.84
0.88
0.67
2.19
4.06

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Aviation accident rates

Number of flights per type helicopter

Single engine
Medium twin
Heavy twin
Light twin (LT)
(SE)
(MT)
(HT)
96,195
116,874
1,019,611
90,109
153,402
31,019
541,393
25,137
507,096
150,318
1,561,004
115,246
756,693
298,211
1,435,765
93,287
767,453
234,675
1,376,456
91,406
746,567
203,456
1,277,237
89,068
729,383
197,188
1,259,183
91,370
856,186
257,738

Hours flown

Passengers
carried

Averages per helicopter

Annual hours per aircraft
Flights per aircraft
Passengers flown per year per aircraft

Injury classification

2007 world-wide offshore helicopter accident data

Averages per helicopter

Passengers per day per 5 day week
Flights per day
Average flight duration in min.

Total fleet
97
606
444
1,147
1,116
1,128
1,089
1,139

Passengers (PAX) per type helicopter

Single engine
Medium twin
Heavy twin
Light twin (LT)
(SE)
(MT)
(HT)
238,238
1,141,730
1,618,689
172,026
937,650
225,119
557,549
114,728
3,191,646
1,128,761
2,176,238
286,754
4,367,534
2,495,610
2,108,976
213,765
4,123,576
2,576,890
1,943,657
193,426
4,037,865
2,315,342
1,818,967
187,438
3,974,977
2,205,994
2,199,661
200,837
4,223,539
1,862,801

2007 worldwide offshore helicopter fleet operational data

N.Sea
GoM
Other
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

Hours per type helicopter

Single engine
Medium twin
Heavy twin
Light twin (LT)
(SE)
(MT)
(HT)
24,120
88,729
280,683
27,617
81,895
20,602
105,860
10,926
273,797
71,781
386,543
38,543
379,812
181,112
307,897
39,675
376,453
171,234
316,427
35,456
363,427
168,123
304,026
34,358
355,295
159,810
312,541
34,706
357,187
162,892

2007 world-wide offshore helicopter operational data details

N.Sea
GoM
Other
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

Single engine (SE)

2007 world-wide offshore helicopter operational data summary

0.45
0.00
0.13
0.67
0.37
0.55
0.62
0.52
1.10

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

213,069
1,294,141
1,223,944
2,731,154
2,531,180
2,417,885
2,292,876
2,464,477

Total fleet

Safety performance of helicopter operations in the oil & gas industry

2
0
0
0
2
1
2
4
7

7
0
0
0
7
6
8
10
15

Single Eng
Light Twin
Med Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

0
0
0
0
0
1
2
2
3

# Eng Related

4
0
0
0
4
4
16
14
18

Pax

Injuries

2009 OGP

0
0
0
2
0
0
0

# Accidents

0
0
0
1
0
0
0

# Fatal

0
0
0
1
0
0
0

# Eng Related

0
0
0
5
0
0
0

Pax

Injuries

2003 total
2004 total
2005 total
2006 total
2007 total
5 Yr Avg

# Fatal

11
6
3
4
5
5.8

# Accidents

27
12
15
14
10
16.0

3
3
2
4
0
2.4

# Eng Related

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

55
25
22
14
7
24.6

Pax

Injuries

18
9
9
7
10
10.6

Crew

24
9
23
10
6
14.4

Injured

Injury Classification

4
0
0
0
4
5
18
4
14

0
0
0
2
0
0
0

Crew

Severity

49
25
8
11
11
20.8

Fatal

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Injured

Injury classification

Five year world-wide offshore helicopter accident data

Med Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

5
0
0
0
5
3
7
5
8

Injured

Injury classification
Crew

2007 North Sea offshore helicopter accident data

# Fatal

# Accidents

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

2007 GoM offshore helicopter accident data

0
0
0
7
0
0
0

Fatal

3
0
0
0
3
2
5
15
12

Fatal

0
0
0
1
0
0
0

2
0
0
1
0
0.8

Minor

10
3
4
5
3
5.2

Major

3
0
0
0
3
1
3
3
5

Major

15
9
11
8
7
10.0

Total Loss

3.11
1.41
1.70
1.56
1.01
1.80

# Acc 100k Hrs

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Major

0.00
0.00
0.00
1.45
0.00
0.00
0.00

1.27
0.70
0.34
0.45
0.51
0.65

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hrs

4.06
2.19
0.67
0.88
0.84
1.73

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

0.00
0.00
0.00
3.54
0.00
0.00
0.00

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

0.00
0.00
0.00
1.01
0.00
0.00
0.00

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

0.69
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.54
0.48
0.61
0.79
1.12

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

1,120
566
177
237
224
444.7

Accidents
(IFAR)

251
136
66
86
102
126.2

Incidents
(IFAIR)

Industry fatal rates per 100M Exposure

Hrs Passengers & Crew

0.00
0.00
0.00
0.72
0.00
0.00
0.00

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

1.10
0.52
0.62
0.55
0.37
0.65

1.14
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.69
0.48
1.23
4.02
2.93

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Aviation accident rates

0.71
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.49
0.25
0.49
1.11
1.84

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

Aviation accident rates

# Acc 100k Flts

# Acc 100k Hours

2.49
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.70
1.48
1.97
2.77
3.93

# Acc 100k Hours

Aviation accident rates

0
0
0
1
0
0
0

Total Loss

4
0
0
0
4
4
5
7
10

Total Loss

Aircraft damages classification

Minor

0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0

Minor

Aircraft damages classification

Aircraft damages classification

Severity

Severity

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

7
4
2
1
0
2.8

15
10
8
6
7
9.2

3
2
2
1
0
1.6

# Eng Related

18
14
16
4
4
11.2

Pax

Injuries

8
5
7
3
5
5.6

Crew

0
0
0
1
0
0.2

0
0
0
2
0
0.8

0
0
0
1
0
0.2

# Eng Related

0
0
0
5
0
1.0

Pax

Injuries

0
0
0
2
0
0.4

Crew

0
0
0
0
0
0.0

Injured

Injury Classification
Severity

Severity

2009 OGP

Bird Strike

0
0
0
0
0
1

Engine
related

0
0
0
0
0
24

0
0
0
0
0
4

Lightning

0
0
0
1
1
10

0
0
0
0
0
1

3
0
0
0
3
11

Single Eng
Light Twin
Med. Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
1997-2006

Type Aircraft

Bird strike

0
0
0
0
0
1

Engine related

0
0
0
0
0
15

Flight into terrain water

or obstacle
0
0
0
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
8

Tail rotor

Tie down
proced.
1
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
4

0
0
0
0
0
4

0
0
0
0
0
15

5
3
3
1
3
3.0

10
7
5
4
4
6.0

Total Loss

0
0
1
0
1
7

Unk.

0
0
0
1
0
0.2

Minor

0
0
0
1
0
0.2

0
0
0
0
0
4

Pax con.

0
0
0
0
0
9

2
0
0
0
2
12

Pilot proc

0
0
0
1
1
8

0
0
0
0
0
6

Wx

0
0
0
0
0
2

0
0
0
0
0
5

Unk.

0
0
0
0
0
8

Pax cont.

0.00
0.00
0.00
1.45
0.00
0.58

# Acc 100k Hrs

3.93
2.77
1.97
1.48
1.70
2.05

# Acc 100k Hrs

Mid air

Total Loss

Fuel qual/
Control malf.
mgmt

0
0
0
0
0
0.4

Major

Aircraft damages classification

0
0
0
1
0
0.2

Major

Aircraft damages classification

Minor

Severe
weather
0
0
0
0
0
3

Tail rotor

0
0
0
7
0
1.4

Fatal

12
15
5
2
3
7.4

Fatal

Fuel qual.

Main rotor/
xmsn/main
driveshaft
0
0
0
0
0
3

Fuel starv.

1997-2007 GoM offshore helicopter accident causes/info

1
0
0
0
1
3

Flight into
Tie down External load Obstacle
terrain, water
proc.
proc.
strike

1 of the 10 2007 accidents occurred at night, with 6 fatalities

Single Eng
Light Twin
Med. Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
1997-2006

Type Aircraft

1997-2007 world-wide offshore helicopter accident causes/info

2003 total
2004 total
2005 total
2006 total
2007 total
5 Yr Avg

# Fatal

# Accidents

Number Of Accidents
Aircraft Category

14
4
18
5
4
9.0

Injured

Injury Classification

Five year North Sea offshore helicopter accident data

2003 total
2004 total
2005 total
2006 total
2007 total
5 Yr Avg

# Fatal

# Accidents

Number Of Accidents
Aircraft Category

Five year GoM offshore helicopter accident data

2.93
4.02
1.23
0.48
0.69
1.34

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Obstacle
strike
3
0
0
0
3
5

2
0
0
0
2
16

Pilot proc

0.00
0.00
0.00
0.72
0.00
0.14

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hrs

0
0
0
0
0
3

1
0
0
0
1
2

1
0
0
0
1
4

# Fatal due to single

eng malf.
0
0
0
0
0
6

# Fatal due to
single eng.
malf.
0
0
0
0
0
13

0.00
0.00
0.00
1.01
0.00
0.40

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

1.12
0.79
0.61
0.48
0.54
0.64

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

Loose cargo

Loose cargo

Mid air

0.00
0.00
0.00
3.54
0.00
0.71

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Aviation accident rates

1.84
1.11
0.49
0.25
0.00
0.61

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hrs

Aviation Accident rates

Safety performance of helicopter operations in the oil & gas industry

Engine related
0
0
0
2

# Fatal

0
0
2
0
0
1

# Accidents

0
0
3
4
1
5

0
0
0
2
0
2

# Eng Related

0
0
3
4
0
6

Pax

Lightning
0
0
0
4

2009 OGP

Cable in TR

0
0
3

Engine related

0
0
16

0
0
3

Tail rotor

0
0
5

# Fatal

# Accidents

# Eng related

0
0
2
2
1
3

Crew

Injuries

Crew

Single Eng (07)

Single Eng (98)

Engine Related
1
0

Serious

0
0
1

Hostile fire

0
0
1
3
0
1

Major

0
0
4

Unk.

0
0
2
1
1
3

Total Loss

Minor

Total Loss

0.00
0.00
4.31
9.87
2.59
12.97

8.88

8.32

# Acc 100k
Hours

0
0
4

Pilot proc.

Flight into terrain, water or obstacles

0
1

Major

Aircraft damages classification

0
0
No accidents
2
0

Fatal

0
0
1

0
0
0
0
0
0

Minor

0.00
0.00
2.87
0.00
0.00
2.59

0
0
1

8.88

0.00

22.48

0.00

12.66

9.04

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

# Fatal due to single

eng malf.
0
0
3

0.00
0.00
3.08
3.76
1.01
5.06

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

Severe weather
0
0
0
3

# Fatal 1M Occupants

Aviation accident rates

# Fatal Acc 100k
Hours

0
0
1

0.00
0.00
10.84
0.00
0.00
11.28

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Over load acft

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

Aviation accident rates

Pilot procedure
0
0
0
1

Hard landing

# Acc 100k Hours

Flight into terrain or water

0
0
0
2

Aircraft damages classification

Other component failure

0
0
0
1

Fuel proc.

Injuries due to engine malfunction

0
0

Minor

0
0
2
0
0
2

Fatal

Rapid refuel
proc.
0
0
1

Severity

Injury classification
Severity

0
0
4

Snagged load

0
0
3
6
1
7

Injured

Injury classification

Flight into
terrain
0
0
2

Injuries

Main rotor or xmsn failure

0
0
0
1

1998-2007 geophysical helicopter accident causes/info

2007 total
1999-2006 total
1998 total

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category
Pax

Obstacle strike

2007 geophysical helicopter accident data

Single Eng
2007
1998-2006

Type

2007 seismic helicopter accident causes/info

Single Eng
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

2007 seismic helicopter accident data

Medium Twin
Heavy Twin
2007 total
1997-2006

1997-2007 North Sea offshore helicopter accident causes/info

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

# Fatal

1
1
2
1
4
0
1

# Accidents

2
1
3
4
4
4
2

1
0
1
0
1
1
0

# Eng Related

1
3
4
4
12
0
4

Pax

Injuries

0
1
1
2
6
1
2

Crew

Engine Related
1
0
1
5

Fuel Quality
0
0
0
1

Pilot Procedure
0
0
0
13

2009 OGP

# Fatal

1
1
1
3
2
0
1
0

# Accide total nts

1
3
1
5
6
4
3
1

0
1
0
1
3
2
0
0

# Eng Related

2
7
3
12
7
1
9
5

Pax

Injuries

1
5
3
9
4
1
4
0

0
10
0
10
7
2
12
5

Injured

Injury classification
Crew

Type Aircraft
Single piston
Single turbine
Medium twin
2007 total
1998-2006

Pilot procedure
0
0
0
0
10

Engine related
0
1
0
1
9

Flight into terrain, water

0
0
1
1
5

1
3
4
5
12
0
1

Fatal

Severity

3
2
6
11
4
0
1
0

Fatal

Hostile act
0
0
0
0
1

Fuel mgmt
0
0
0
0
1

Minor

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

Control problems
0
0
0
9

1
0
1
2
0
3
1

Major

Obstacle strike
1
0
1
1

Other technical
0
0
0
0
1

0
0
0
0
3
3
1
0

Major

1
1
2
2
4
0
1

Total Loss

Tail rotor
0
0
0
0
1

1
3
1
5
3
1
1
1

Total Loss

Aircraft damages classification

0
0
0
0
0
1
0

Minor

Aircraft damages classification

Obstacle strike
1
0
0
1
4

Flight into terrain, water or obstacles

0
0
0
4

Severity

1998-2007 other industry support helicopter accident causes/info

Single piston
Single turbine
Heavy twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

2007 other industry helicopter accident data

Single Eng
Heavy Twin
2007
1998 - 2006

0
1
1
1
6
1
5

Injured

Injury classification

1998-2007 pipeline helicopter accident causes/info

Single Eng
Medium Twin
2007 total
2006 total
2005 total
2004 total
2003 total

Type Aircraft

Number of accidents
Aircraft Category

2007 pipeline helicopter accident data

34.73
238.28
75.43
31.35
76.85
0.00
5.16

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

12.78
88.18
14.29
17.31
17.82
18.43
3.45

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

# Acc 100k Flt

Stages

Unknown
0
2
0
2
1

# Fatal due to single engine malfunction

0
0
0
0
0

Rates believed to be significantly higher, but activity levels are unknown

26.65
8.88
6.03
8.97
16.04
16.04
72.87
88.18
10.23
6.14
31.76
5.81
12.11
4.04
12.55
7.55
8.81
0.00
0.00
5.08
6.79
2.26
3.43
3.98
1.87
0.00
0.00
1.10

# Fatal 1M
Occupants

Aviation accident rates

# Fatal due to single engine malfunction

1
0
1
5

4.48
16.04
5.77
3.02
14.13
0.00
2.88

# Fatal Acc 100k

Hours

# Fatal Acc 100k

# Acc 100k Hours
Hours

Unknown
0
1
1
3

8.95
16.04
8.65
12.10
14.13
15.28
5.76

# Acc 100k Hours

Aviation accident rates

Safety performance of helicopter operations in the oil & gas industry

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

10

2009 OGP

Safety performance of helicopter operations in the oil & gas industry

Appendix B Accident detail

Helicopters 2007
Member?
Date

Activity

Model

Type

Location

OGP

Injuries

ASC

Pax

Crew

Total
Injuries

Fatal

Narrative
Believed to be a technical fault with hydraulic line causing fuselage
fire

30 Jan

Offshore

AS332L2

HT

Malaysia

12 Feb

Offshore

EC120B

SE

GoM

Hit flare boom on landing

28 Feb

Pipelines

B212

MT

Peru

Unknown. Peruvian Air Force B212 was destroyed near Ccollpa,

Ayachucho, Peru when it crashed in heavily forrested terrain during
a pipeline survey during daylight hours

25 Mar

Other

M18

HT

Russia

Adverse weather

08 May

Pipeline

AS313

SE

US

Pilot hit wires after landing in a field

11 May

Offshore

B206B

SE

GoM

Loss of tail rotor control on takeoff from helideck

05 Jun

Other

B206L3

SE

Colombia

Limited information, fatal recon flight

12 Jul

Pipeline

AS350B1

SE

Ireland

Helicopter was inspecting a gas pipeline, failure of the engine

assembly gearbox spiral bevel gear resulting in loss of fuel flow.

14 Jul

Geophys

AS315B

SE

US

Power loss and hard landing while long-lining

22 Jul

Offshore

B206L3

SE

GoM

Helo apparently hit some solar panels attached to the safety fence
and angled above the deck level (20x25 deck)

03 Aug

Offshore

B412EP

MT

Nigeria

Unknown, aircraft struck the ground on an unauthorised flight

Pilot failed to secure a sign shade inside the helicopter which was
sucked out of a window and damaged the tail rotor

12 Aug

Offshore

B206

SE

Yes

Yes

GoM

10 Aug

Offshore

B407

SE

GoM

Helo struck a 2d helo parked on the helideck, 40 foot deck

11 Oct

Offshore

EC130

SE

GoM

Tried to depart tied down

12 Oct

Offshore

E130

HT

Azerbaijan

Helo crashed shortly after takeoff on night medevac flight from a

drill rig

20 Oct

Other

B206B3

SE

US

While cleaning power line insulators, suffered power loss and hard
landing

06 Nov

Other

R44

SP

US

Hit power lines on departure at night from an oil site

Yes

Yes

13 Dec

Other

B204

SE

Peru

Unknown crash reasons during takeoff from an oil camp, descended

into tree

30 Dec

Offshore

B206

SE

GoM

On approach to platform entered steeling with power and unable to

recover, weather was below OGP VFR minima.

23

20

17

26

Totals

3 Engine Related, 1 Other Technical, 2 CFITW, 1 Tiedown Procedure, 5 Obstacle Strike,

4 Unknown, 3 Pilot Procedure (loss of control or improper procedure)

2009 OGP

11

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

Airplanes 2007
Member?

Injuries

Severity

Date

Activity

Model

Type

Location

OGP

ASC

Pax

Crew

Injuries

Fatal

04 Jan

Pipeline

C182

SP

US

Yes

Yes

CFIT

Narrative

31 Mar

Other

C206

SP

Ethiopia

Yes

Yes

Loss of engine power and off-airport landing

24 May

Offshore

C206

SP

US

Yes

Yes

On takeoff, floatplane collision with a boat that came from a side

canal

20 Jun

Pipeline

C206

SP

US

Fuel Starvation

13 Sep

Other

B36

SP

US

Unknown at present

26 Sep

Geophys

F406

TP

Uganda

Crashed shortly after takeoff

28 Nov

Pipeline

C182Q

SP

US

Crashed for Unknown reasons

10

Totals

1 CFIT, 1 Power Loss, 2 Pilot Procedure (loss of control or improper procedure), 3 unknown

Totals all aircraft 2007

Overall summary
Accidents: 25
Passengers injured: 29
Crew injured: 28
Non-fatal injuries: 21
Fatalities: 36

12

2009 OGP

What is OGP?
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers encompasses the worlds leading private
and state-owned oil & gas companies, their national and regional associations, and major
upstream contractors and suppliers.

Vision
To work on behalf of the worlds oil and gas producing companies to promote responsible
and profitable operations

Mission
To represent the interests of oil and gas producing companies to international regulators and
legislative bodies
To liaise with other industry associations globally and provide a forum for sharing experiences,
debating emerging issues and establishing common ground to promote cooperation,
consistency and effectiveness
To facilitate continuous improvement in HSE, CSR, engineering and operations

Objectives
To improve understanding of our industry by being visible, accessible and a reliable source
of information
To represent and advocate industry views by developing effective proposals
To improve the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on HSE performance
To develop and disseminate best practice in HSE, engineering and operations
To promote CSR awareness and best practice

209-215 Blackfriars Road

London SE1 8NL
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7633 0272
Fax: +44 (0)20 7633 2350
165 Bd du Souverain
4th Floor
B-1160 Brussels, Belgium
Telephone: +32 (0)2 566 9150
Fax: +32 (0)2 566 9159
Internet site: www.ogp.org.uk
e-mail: reception@ogp.org.uk