Work of the UK Helicopter Task Group
Authors: Bybee Karen 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 140760, ’The Work of the UK Helicopter Task Group,’ by Jessica Burton, Oil & Gas UK, originally prepared for the 2011 SPE European Health, Safety, and En vironmental Conference in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, Vienna, Austria, 22-24 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

The Helicopter Task Group (HTG) was created by the UK oil and gas industry in April 2009 to address helicopter-safety issues, including those arising from the tragic helicopter crash off the northeast coast of Scotland on 1 April 2009. The task group included representatives from offshore operators and contractors, including those involved in the incident, as well as Oil & Gas UK, the offshore workforce, helicopter-operator companies, regulators, emergency-response organizations, and trade unions.    

Introduction

The HTG was created to address cross-industry issues about helicopter safety, including those arising from the fatal helicopter crash off the northeast coast of Scotland on 1 April 2009.

The purpose of the HTG was to act on behalf of the industry as a communications focal point for sharing information, advice, and learning across the industry and with other stakeholders on matters arising from this and other helicopter accidents, including assisting the implementation of any recommendations from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) inquiries. The group also defined possible policies and practices to be recommended to the Board of Oil & Gas UK for approval and consequent implementation on a pan-industry basis.  In doing this, it was supported by existing industry workgroups and advisory teams. The group met every 4 weeks from April 2009 to June 2010.

The full-length paper is designed to summarize the key issues that the task group was involved in over that period, some of which had been ongoing work for a number of years, and what changes have been made to the offshore industry and aviation safety as a result of the cooperation between the task group, wider aviation community, existing industry bodies, regulators, and emergency-response organizations.

HTG Work Plan

The HTG identified a number of key aviation-safety issues at its first meet-ing in April 2009, which would form the basis of its work plan. Although many potential projects could have been chosen, it was decided that—to ensure that the group could work effectively and deliver results in a manageable time frame—only a set number of priority items would be focused on. These work areas initially were linked to recommendations arising from the lessons learned in the two helicopter incidents that occurred in the UK continental shelf (UKCS) in early 2009. As the group progressed, other work areas were identified, including some linked to lessons learned in other incidents around the world.

Summary of Key Work Areas and Progress Made

The following is a summary of each of the key work areas or projects overseen by the task group, and the status of each by June 2010 when the group was closed formally and its work was handed over to a new group.