What happened
On 9 March 2008, an Aerospatile SA365N Dauphin, registration G-BKXD, was performing a commercial passenger flight in the Leman Gas field, approximately 41 nm northeast of Norwich. The helicopter was conducting a routine personnel transfer between the Leman 27AD platform and various satellite installations.
During the evening portion of the flight, the crew attempted to land on the Leman 27AD helideck. As the aircraft approached the landing point, the Fenestron tail fairing struck the guardrails of a deck-mounted crane. The impact triggered the emergency locating transmitter and caused damage to the tail fairing and potentially the tailboom. There were no fatalities and no injuries to the two crew members or five passengers on board. Following the strike, the crew completed the landing, and passengers disembarked safely.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and the operator's internal reports. Investigators found that the helicopter was operating near its maximum weight, which limited its ability to hover out of ground effect. The flight data showed the aircraft approached the deck at a lower altitude than recommended.
Analysis of the cockpit voice recordings revealed that while the crew appeared relaxed, there was a lack of communication regarding the specific landing hazards or the use of the helideck. The non-handling pilot did not perform the standard monitoring calls required by the operations manual, with the exception of a single call regarding torque levels that coincided with the collision.
Findings
- The approach from the south side of the helideck placed the aircraft in close proximity to the crane structure.
- The commander used the 'H' marking on the helideck as a visual reference rather than the forward edge of the deck, which reduced tail clearance.
- Limited helicopter performance due to high operating weight necessitated a continuous approach to maintain ground effect, which prevented the aircraft from gaining sufficient forward movement to clear the obstacle.
- Potential contributing factors included crew fatigue from a long duty day and a lack of effective crew resource management regarding the approach profile and potential hazards.