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Statoil Helo Crash - North Sea

Randy Daytona

Randy Daytona

Cold War Relic
pilot
Super Moderator
Looks like one of the big Eurocopters (EC-225 - latest variant of the AS-332 SuperPuma) went down near Bergen, Norway. Outlook is grim. Thread over on www.pprune.org has eyewitnesses reporting the main rotor came apart/off in flight around 2200 ft. Not the first time this has happened with the SuperPuma.

If you have a transmission problem, do not delay getting to the ground.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/norway-bergen-helicopter-crash-1.3558619
 
Randy Daytona said:
By chance, someone was filming outside at the time. This is the main rotor hub spinning down - by itself. Catastrophic failure without warning. Condolences to the families.

http://www.tv2.no/v/1039640/
Click to expand...
Ugh. What an awful way to go; hard to believe that the entire head came off. I had never thought of that as a consequence of a main transmission problem but I guess it makes sense if it happens fast enough or the right pieces come off. If I remember correctly a Navy helo lost it's TR a few years ago when it's TGB failed. I know nothing about a Puma XMSN system but I know in the H-60 we were always told that the XMSN was supposed to be able to run dry for a certain amount of time but I think they changed that after the S-92 went down off of Canada.
 
Pags said:
in the H-60 we were always told that the XMSN was supposed to be able to run dry for a certain amount of time
Click to expand...

If I were a betting man, I'd say that that blurb in the H-60 NATOPS means that a long time ago they took a brand new transmission, drained the oil, and ran it on the test stand for 60 minutes putting a certain amount of torque through it (or 30 minutes for the IGB and TGB). When it didn't blow up then the spec was met.

Nothing more, nothing less.
 
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Un fucking real.
530693069014811.jpg
 
Randy Daytona said:
The helicopter was operated by CHC - outlook is not good for the company. Rock bottom oil prices are wreaking havoc on the industry.

CHC Fights the Clock to Avoid Bankruptcy After Missed Payment

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...lock-to-avoid-bankruptcy-after-missed-payment
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Karl Fessenden is the CEO and until very recently a GE guy (running the integration project I am on). He has an excellent reputation both in engineering and in business/finance. I would not count him and his team out. I'd bet on CHC bouncing back fairly quickly. It's a solid business model. EVERYONE in Oil & Gas is taking it on the chin right now. It's cyclical and short term IMHO.
 
The Super Puma is a death trap :) Sikorsky should be all over this. Airbus gets loads of subsidy from our frogfish friends - hardly a level playing field. And then their EX-IM bank in France grants 0% capital financing over 15 years for a highly depreciating asset like aircraft. The Fr's just print money - same on all the A320's and A380's. Unfortunately, it's a global economy - there's no closing the pandora's box. We are all one big economy - Us, EU, China, Russia, even Brazil We are all in the same game.
 
ChuckMK23 said:
Karl Fessenden is the CEO and until very recently a GE guy (running the integration project I am on). He has an excellent reputation both in engineering and in business/finance. I would not count him and his team out. I'd bet on CHC bouncing back fairly quickly. It's a solid business model. EVERYONE in Oil & Gas is taking it on the chin right now. It's cyclical and short term IMHO.
Click to expand...

I hope you are correct - I have friends at CHC. However I am thinking that fracking has changed the game - when oil goes above $50 a barrel, they can just turn on the taps - my memory is that deep offshore oil is more expensive (those numbers may have changed.) In addition, Iran entering the oil market just increases the glut. The final straw is that oil consumption seems to have peaked (unthinkable even just a few years ago.) It was on the news today that oil storage facilities are nearing peak capacity and now supertankers are being used as floating storage.
 
ChuckMK23 said:
Karl Fessenden is the CEO and until very recently a GE guy (running the integration project I am on). He has an excellent reputation both in engineering and in business/finance. I would not count him and his team out. I'd bet on CHC bouncing back fairly quickly. It's a solid business model. EVERYONE in Oil & Gas is taking it on the chin right now. It's cyclical and short term IMHO.
Click to expand...

CHC in Bankruptcy as Oil Slump Hits Offshore Helicopter Service

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...as-oil-slump-hits-offshore-helicopter-service
 
EASA (Europe's FAA) has grounded the SuperPuma's.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/935672/undefined-headline-1581/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/statoil-scrambles-to-replace-grounded-airbus-helicopters-1464851882

AIBN’s report read: “Among the recovered parts were two pieces which together form approximately half a second stage planet gear. Examinations of these parts have revealed features strongly consistent with fatigue. The fatigue appears to have its origin in the outer race of the bearing (inside of the gear), propagating towards the web of the gear teeth. There is sign of spalling in front of the fracture surface.”

The AIBN said it felt the “findings to be of such significance that it has decided to issue the following safety recommendation to ensure the continuing airworthiness of the main gear box (MGB)”.

It added: “It cannot be ruled out that this signifies a possible safety issue that can affect other MGBs of the same type. The nature of the catastrophic failure of the LN-OJF main rotor system indicates that the current means to detect a failure in advance are not effective.”
 
Crazy. I flew my TPS final project in a Brazilian EC-725 (mil version of 225). Glad it was a brand-new bird.
 
And I thought the Canadian S-92 oil pressure failure (and subsequent gearbox seizure) was bad. That's all kinds of bad news.
 
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