407's

[407 Driver]

...hasn't been a Spotted Owl sighted here in years V-Ref, you and your 204.5 took care of allmost all of the available habitat last time you passed through, then your partners burned up the rest. 😀
We could use some beer in the fridge, send Bob down, or at least his new credit card. He finally reported the card that we took last summer stolen, so we can't use it anymore. 😛

 

[VERTICAL REF]

...the sound of life...


weather the rotor system is integral to the aircraft or off doing its own thing, it still makes that same sound...

 

[VERTICAL REF]

I think that was my card!!!

 

[407 Driver]

Ummm, I think you're right 😱

 

[MagSeal]

another one...


http://www1.faa.gov/avr/aai/J_1202_N.txt

 

[CTD]

N457PH - T5Limit and I ferried that a/c when it was new to PHI in New Iberia.

 

[Heli Ops]

CTD - Do PHI have any more 407s left as they have been sinking quite a few over the past couple of years.

Heli Ops

 

[CTD]

I'm more worried about the people that are being lost. Screw the helicopters - they build them everyday.

 

[Heli Ops]

CTD - Agree wholeheartedly. My point was why arent FAA looking at PHI more closely. They seem to lose quite a lot of machines.

Heli Ops

 

[CTD]

And that is a good point. I'm sure there are some raised eyebrows down there after this rash of accidents.

I'm not ready to throw a rock at PHI yet, though. The entire GOM appears to be having problems with this aircraft, and that has me thinking environment.

Whatever it is, I hope it's soon fixed.

 

[Over-Talk]

WOW Heli-Ops, that's quite a statement.
I looked up the accident database and couldn't see that PHI had lost "quite a lot of machines". Especially considering how many helicopters/407s that PHI operates.
Though there are several incidents in the Gulf of Mexico area, they are from a variety of causes, and from a variety of operators.
Can you please explain the data for your findings, or would a polite retraction be in order?

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp

Edited a few hours later. Note my own retraction below.

 

[407 Driver]

PHI has had a run of very bad luck this year. Someone on justhelicopters.com posted that this is their 12th accident this year on various types. This is the 3rd fatal that I know about. Not good for anyone. CTD, no-one else in the Gulf seems to be having these 407 problems? Air Log has a big fleet down there as well.

Mag, in my new spirit of politeless, did you notice that I never mentioned to anyone here what happened to a new _______ in __________ last week 😉

 

[RDM]

I believe this whole rash of accidents, the last 1 1/2 years has nothing to do with any one type of aircraft.

Look at some of the accidents they have had:

Aircraft flipping on decks,

CFIT,

Settling with Power,

and yes a few mechanicals.

I believe that it is a symptom of a far more seriuos problem in the GOM.........money and greed, by yes, the oil companies. And until they (oil companies) decide to put a stop to it be prepared for more unfortunate accidents.

 

[Over-Talk]

Heli-ops, on further examination of the database, it is me that owes you the apology and retraction.
After I tried a few more parameters in the database, I also noticed there was a tragic number of incidents involving PHI in the last two years. They covered a variety of machine types, causal factors, and locations. (It is because of this array that I had missed many events when I searched earlier today).
I should have known you would have your finger on the pulse of what's happening in our business !!

I hope they can turn things around, as this company was a pioneer in the concept of Safety Management, and had a brilliant safety record just a few years ago.

There are also many other incidents occuring with other operators in the Gulf, and the States that service the Gulf. I am sure this area will be seeing alot of FAA attention in the near future, and hopefully less attendance by the NTSB.

 

[MagSeal]

407D

you know you don't have to be polite with me...



The only thing good that comes out of any accident is change. If the manufacturers and design engineers had crystal balls, there would never be any accident. But as we know it there can be a multitude of factors affecting every accident. Some factors compounded end up in castastrophe. Everyone is trained for the worse, engine failures, hydraulic failures etc, but put everything into the big picture and you can find the situation overwhelming. You end up grabbing onto what you can and try and ride it out.
Be vigilent, expect the unexpected, and for gosh sakes, keep the fridge full of cold ones, some days you just need to crack a couple when you get home...