Aviation Safety Management, Valdez Oil Spill Clean-Up
Authors: Friesenhahn M.J. , Williams R.G. , McKeown W.L. 
Published: October 2008

The March 24, 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound (PWS) resulted in an unprecedented mobilization of personnel and oil spill clean-up equipment. This paper describes the comprehensive safety management system implemented for aviation operations supporting the clean-up response in PWS and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA).

Aviation support operations quickly expanded to over 100 aircraft obtained from numerous sources. Beginning with early surveillance flights, aviation operations were subject to comprehensive safety management programs, including safety assessments, minimum flight weather criteria, operational standards and procedures, air carrier qualifications, equipment and procedure audits, and emergency response. Communication networks and flight following procedures were established, arctic survival training was conducted, and a full complement of survival equipment was required.

These programs were largely responsible for safety performance of the spill response effort-during the 1989- 92 response activities, over 56,000 flight hours, 159,000 equivalent passengers, and 20,000 tons of cargo were handled without an aviation related injury. The programs are applicable to offshore development and operational activities, particularly those located in more remote, severe environments.

PROJECT AREA

Alaska North Slope crude oil from the Prudhoe Bay field moves some 800 miles south through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to the ice-free port of Valdez, where super tankers move the oil from the Alyeska Pipeline Terminal through PWS and the GOA to markets in the Lower 48. The area impacted by the spill, Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska (Figure 1), is primarily sub-arctic wilderness, and is home to numerous species of animal, bird and marine life.

Apart from the industrial activity associated with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal in Valdez, the area is dominated by commercial fishing and tourism activities conducted from widely scattered small towns.

GEOGRAPHY & WEATHER

Prince William Sound (PWS) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) contain numerous islands and glacially fed deep fjords where icebergs and ice floes are present most of the year. The islands and the surrounding mainland contain rocky shorelines and steeply inclined near shore upland areas leading to steep, jagged mountains.

Weather is adverse-typically, 150 inches of rain and 400 inches of snow fall annually, and temperatures average 20F to 30F in the winter to 50F-60F in the summer. Water temperatures average 34F to 42F. Storms approach with little warning"a calm sunny day can suddenly change to rain or fog, 50–75 knot winds and 10–15 foot seas, causing aviation operations to cease entirely. Icing conditions, frequent low weather ceilings, and poor visibility pose extreme challenges and unique hazards to aircraft transiting from inland bases through 5000-6000 foot mountain passes where rapid, extreme weather changes occur frequently.

EXTENT OF SPILL

On March 24, 1989, the fully loaded super tanker Exxon Valdez carrying 1.25 million barrels of Alaska North Slope crude hit Bligh Reef In PWS. A total of approximately 260,000 barrels of crude was spilled, and after three days of relatively calm weather, 50 plus mile per hour winds hindered the initial response efforts and caused the spill to spread significantly.