What happened
On 25 March 2019, an Agusta Westland AW189, registration G-OENC, was conducting a commercial passenger and freight flight in the Forties field of the Northern North Sea. The flight was scheduled to visit several platforms, including the Forties Delta (40D) platform.
During the descent, the crew noted an unusually high crane position on a nearby platform. While the pilots intended to land on the 40D platform, a discussion regarding the crane's position on the Forties Charlie (40C) platform diverted their attention. During the approach, the pilot monitoring switched the cockpit display to engine parameters, which removed the flight management system (FMS) navigation data from their view. Consequently, the pilot flying performed a left turn toward a platform they identified as the destination, which was actually the 40C platform.
The crew completed the landing on the 40C helideck. It was only after the aircraft had landed and no deck crew approached that the pilots realized they were on the wrong platform and noticed the 'Forties Charlie' designation on the deck.
The investigation
The investigation examined the flight path, cockpit automation usage, and the effectiveness of the operator's safety procedures. Investigators analyzed the physical layout of the Forties field, noting that the 40C and 40D platforms are visually nearly identical. The investigation also reviewed the crew's pre-flight 'MATE' briefing and the standard operating procedures regarding the avoidance of wrong deck landings.
Findings
- The crew misidentified the 40C platform as the 40D destination due to a combination of visual similarity and distraction.
- A discussion regarding the position of a crane on the 40C platform diverted the pilots' attention from the intended flight path.
- The pilots did not perform the required final checks, such as reading the platform name on the helideck or cross-checking the GPS/FMS bearing and distance.
- The selection of the 'p-plant' page on the multi-function display caused the pilot monitoring to lose access to critical FMS navigation data.
- High levels of familiarity with the field layout and the identical approach profiles for the platforms contributed to confirmation bias.
- The presence of an unstowed crane on both platforms failed to provide a distinguishing feature to alert the crew to the error.
Safety action
Following the incident, the operator implemented several safety measures, including:
- Issuing a Safety Notice to pilots regarding the importance of reading platform names, monitoring GPS data, and waiting for cranes to be stowed.
- Amending the Operations Manual via a Flying Staff Instruction to emphasize the need for robust platform identification during both pre-flight planning and the approach phase.