News Releases 2011

C-NLOPB Responds to Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry Phase II Report

For Immediate Release
August 18, 2011

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
(C-NLOPB) today responded to the final report of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry entitled “Report and Recommendations arising from the Transportation Safety Board’s Report”.

The submission of this report signals the completion of the inquiry. The C-NLOPB wishes to extend its gratitude to Commissioner Robert Wells, Inquiry Counsel and staff, Parties with Standing, Families of the Victims, and to all others, most notably, Robert Decker, who contributed to the Inquiry and, in doing so, to improvements in offshore helicopter safety.

The report contains four recommendations. Recommendation 1 is directed at the C-NLOPB and the remaining three are directed at Transport Canada or Governments. The Board’s response to each recommendation is as follows:

Recommendation 1 – Alert Service Bulletins

We have accepted this Recommendation and have directed the Operators to develop a plan for compliance in conjunction with work they are already doing in response to Phase I Recommendation 7, dealing with Airworthiness Directives. We will ask the Phase I Implementation Team to provide oversight of the Operators’ work.

Recommendation 2 – Helicopter Passenger Suit

We have referred this Recommendation to Transport Canada and the Canadian General Standards Board for consideration as part of their ongoing work to create a new Helicopter Passenger Transportation Suit standard. There is a broadly-based committee engaged in this work, including C-NLOPB, CNSOPB, Operators and suit manufacturers.

Recommendation 3 – TSB Recommendations

We have passed this Recommendation along to Transport Canada. The C-NLOPB has already been engaged in a Focus Group to assist Transport Canada in their plans to respond to Recommendations in the Phase I and Phase II report. We have requested that the Operators determine what plans Cougar and Sikorsky have for retro-fitting the Cougar fleet. Also, we have asked our Aviation Advisor to review with Transport Canada any plans for removal of the “extremely remote” provision. He will also discuss with them any plans to review the adequacy of the 30-minute run-dry requirement.

Recommendation 4 – Separate Regulator

We have forwarded this Recommendation to both Governments for their consideration.

Recommendation 29 (b) in the Phase I report recommended that consideration be given to the creation of a separate and autonomous safety division within the C-NLOPB. The C-NLOPB has acted on this recommendation by separating the safety and operations functions into two separate departments. The Operations Department will be headed by Mr. Howard Pike and the Safety Department will be headed by Mr. Dan Chicoyne. Mr. Chicoyne was recently hired by the Board and he will take on the responsibility of Chief Safety Officer. He has extensive experience in safety and was the Chief Accident Investigator for the Canadian Forces, as well as the Director of Flight Safety for the Canadian Forces. Mr. Chicoyne is also a former fixed wing and helicopter pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces and held the rank of Colonel.

While the C-NLOPB asked Commissioner Wells to review the TSB report, it also conducted its own review. The Board’s review did not identify any deficiencies or gaps in the current implementation plan. The Board is now satisfied that the implementation strategy developed in response to Phase I, with the change recommended by Commissioner Wells, fully encompasses all elements of the TSB report that needed to be addressed by the C-NLOPB.

Media Contact:
Sean Kelly M.A., APR, FCPRS
Manager of Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca


News Releases 2011

DateUpdate
2011, Dec 22Corridor Environmental Assessment for Exploration Licence 1105 Filed with Independent Reviewer
2011, Dec 21C-NLOPB Invites Comments on Draft Scoping Document for Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area Strategic Environmental Assessment Update
2011, Nov 16C-NLOPB Releases Results for 2011 Calls for Bids NL11-01, NL11-02 and NL11-03
2011, Nov 2Corridor Environmental Assessment for Exploration Licence 1105 Filed with the C-NLOPB
2011, Nov 1C-NLOPB Conducts Offshore Safety Forum
2011, Oct 18Offshore Incident Reporting by Operators Consistent with other Industries
2011, Oct 14C-NLOPB Comments on S-92 Helicopter Incident in Gulf of Mexico
2011, Oct 52011 Call for Nominations
2011, Sep 21C-NLOPB Comments on Bristow Norway S-92A Grounding
2011, Aug 25C-NLOPB Announces Independent Review of Proposed Drilling on Exploration Licence 1105 (Old Harry)
2011, Aug 19C-NLOPB Releases 2010-11 Annual Report
2011, Aug 18C-NLOPB Responds to Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry Phase II Report
2011, Aug 16C-NLOPB to Conduct Extensive Public Consultations on EL 1105 (Old Harry) Proposal
2011, Aug 15C-NLOPB Releases Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry Report, Phase II
2011, Jul 6C-NLOPB Appoints Miller Ayre as Commissioner for Hebron Development Application Public Review
2011, Jul 4C-NLOPB Sets the Record Straight on AG Audit Request
2011, Jun 13C-NLOPB Recommends a Mediator or Panel Review of Proposed Old Harry Exploration Well in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
2011, Jun 6Drilling and Production Guidelines Updated
2011, Jun 3New Definitions for Reserves and Resources
2011, Jun 3C-NLOPB Releases Further Documentation Relating to the Hebron Development Plan Application
2011, May 16Hebron Benefits Plan Filed with the C-NLOPB
2011, May 12C-NLOPB Announces 2011 Calls for Bids
2011, Apr 21Hebron Development Application Filed With the C-NLOPB
2011, Apr 5C-NLOPB Responds to Criticism about Spill Reporting
2011, Mar 15C-NLOPB says it was not Notified of Board Appointment
2011, Feb 25Canadian Environmental Assessment Act Draft Scoping Document Exploration Drilling Project – EL 1105
2011, Feb 9C-NLOPB Says it will Review the TSB Report and Decide Next Steps