Three offshore helicopter operators have announced a review of safety practices – just a day after a separate probe was announced by aviation regulators.
The move follows five North Sea accidents in the last four years, including a recent crash off the coast of Shetland in which four people died.
Bristow Group, CHC Helicopters and Avincis Group, parent company of Bond, said the joint investigation would “deepen” a commitment to providing the highest possible safety standards.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Tuesday that it would examine safety in conjunction with the Norwegian CAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The three helicopter operators said in a joint statement yesterday that training, communication and emergency response planning would be among the areas explored.
Avincis Group chief executive officer, James Drummond, said: “This initiative has our full support.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the combined efforts of the operators will further enhance safety for everyone in the industry.”
Bristow Group president and chief executive officer, Bill Chiles, said: “By sharing best practices, we can effectively enhance safety for our clients and our crews. This initiative will combine the expertise and talents within our industry and will complement and fully support the work being done by the Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) and broader industry forums to identify best-in-class technologies, processes, procedures and training to meet the objectives of achieving better safety performance.”
CHC president and chief executive officer, Bill Amelio, added that the joint effort would deepen the commitment of the three industry leaders to collaborate on safety.
“There are and will continue to be plenty of bases for healthy competition between our companies, but safety must never be one of them,” he said.