S92, northeast of Aberdeen UK, 2018

S92, northeast of Aberdeen UK, 2018

Summary

On 23 August 2018, a low experience Sikorsky S92 First Officer undergoing line training made a visual transit between two North Sea offshore platforms but completed an approach to the wrong one. The platform radio operator alerted the crew to their error and the helicopter then flew to the correct platform. The Investigation attributed the error primarily to the inadequate performance of both pilots on what should have been a straightforward short visual flight but particularly highlighted the apparent failure of the Training Captain to fully recognise the challenges of the flight involved when training and acting as Pilot Monitoring.

Description

On 23 August 2018, a Sikorsky S92A (G-CKXL) being operated by Bristow Helicopters on a passenger flight between the East Brae platform and the nearby Brae Alpha platform in day VMC and with pilot line training in progress inadvertently made an approach to the Brae Bravo platform where the radio operator advised the crew of their error. The flight was then continued to the correct destination without further event.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch (UK) (AAIB). It was established that the flight involved had been the third sector of a four sector sequence flown by the same crew beginning and ending at Aberdeen and involving successive stops at the three platforms of the Brae field in the northern North Sea, approximately 150nm northeast of Aberdeen in the sequence Brae Bravo, East Brae and Brae Alpha. The illustration below is annotated with the distances and bearings between the three platforms.

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