Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the helicopter fleet operating in the offshore oil and gas industry is fitted with a side-floating helicopter scheme that is compliant with the Civil Aviation Authority’s relevant statutory specifications.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as part of its Offshore Helicopter Review, looked at improvements that could be made to helicopters to increase the survivability of passengers in the event of a ditching in the sea. The CAA has made recommendations to industry concerning the use of flotation devices. However, the CAA does not have statutory specifications for side-floating helicopter schemes.

The requirements for such equipment are being developed by the European Aviation Safety Agency.