Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C was a helicopter flight that flew between Aberdeen and the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea. On 19 January 1995, the AS 332L Super Pumahelicopter operating the route, registered G-TIGK and named Cullen, was struck by lightning. The flight was carrying 16 oil workers from Aberdeen to an oil platform at the Brae oilfield. All 18 people on board survived.
The commander of the flight was Cedric Roberts (44). He had been with Bristow Helicopters Ltd since 1974. He was a very experienced pilot with more than 9,600 hours of flying time under his belt. The first officer was Lionel Sole (39). Sole had been with Bristow Helicopters Ltd since 1990. He had more than 3,100 hours of flying time to his credit.[3]
Accidentedit
Remains of the helicopter after being recovered from the North Sea
En route, the helicopter ran into poor weather and was then struck by lightning. This caused severe damage to the tail rotor. Though the helicopter managed to limp for a few more minutes, the tail rotor eventually failed completely and the pilot was forced to perform an emergency autorotation onto the rough seas. Emergency floaters on the helicopter allowed the passengers and crew to be evacuated onto a life raft. Despite the high waves and bad weather, all the people on board the flight were rescued by the ship Grampian Freedom.
The lightning strike was an isolated one in the storm, and may have been induced by the helicopter flying through the cloud. The accident investigation also revealed potential troubles with the carbon fibrecomposite material with brass strip design of the rotors which made the rotorblades prone to explosion and damage from lightning strikes.
In popular cultureedit
The events of Flight 56C were featured in "Helicopter Down", a Season 3 (2005) episode of the Canadian TV series Mayday[4] (called Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the U.S. and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and elsewhere around the world).
Air Accidents Investigation Branch (1997). Aircraft Accident Report 2/97: Report on the accident to Aerospatiale AS32L Super Puma, G-TIGK, in North Sea 6 nm south-west of Brae Alpha Oil Production Platform on 19 January 1995(PDF). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN978-0-11551-973-4.
External linksedit
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December 16, 2023
bristow, helicopters, flight, helicopter, flight, that, flew, between, aberdeen, brae, alpha, north, january, 1995, 332l, super, puma, helicopter, operating, route, registered, tigk, named, cullen, struck, lightning, flight, carrying, workers, from, aberdeen, . Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C was a helicopter flight that flew between Aberdeen and the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea On 19 January 1995 the AS 332L Super Puma helicopter operating the route registered G TIGK and named Cullen was struck by lightning The flight was carrying 16 oil workers from Aberdeen to an oil platform at the Brae oilfield All 18 people on board survived Bristow Helicopters Flight 56CHelicopter floating after ditchingAccidentDate19 January 1995 1995 01 19 SummaryLightning strike ditchingSite6 miles southwest of the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea 1 58 42 N 1 18 E 58 700 N 1 300 E 58 700 1 300AircraftAircraft typeEurocopter AS332L Super PumaAircraft nameCullenOperatorBristow HelicoptersCall sign56CRegistrationG TIGK 2 Flight originAberdeen Airport Scotland United KingdomDestinationBrae Alpha oil rig Brae oilfield North SeaPassengers16Crew2Fatalities0Survivors18 all Contents 1 Crew 2 Accident 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCrew editThe commander of the flight was Cedric Roberts 44 He had been with Bristow Helicopters Ltd since 1974 He was a very experienced pilot with more than 9 600 hours of flying time under his belt The first officer was Lionel Sole 39 Sole had been with Bristow Helicopters Ltd since 1990 He had more than 3 100 hours of flying time to his credit 3 Accident edit nbsp Remains of the helicopter after being recovered from the North SeaEn route the helicopter ran into poor weather and was then struck by lightning This caused severe damage to the tail rotor Though the helicopter managed to limp for a few more minutes the tail rotor eventually failed completely and the pilot was forced to perform an emergency autorotation onto the rough seas Emergency floaters on the helicopter allowed the passengers and crew to be evacuated onto a life raft Despite the high waves and bad weather all the people on board the flight were rescued by the ship Grampian Freedom The lightning strike was an isolated one in the storm and may have been induced by the helicopter flying through the cloud The accident investigation also revealed potential troubles with the carbon fibre composite material with brass strip design of the rotors which made the rotorblades prone to explosion and damage from lightning strikes In popular culture editThe events of Flight 56C were featured in Helicopter Down a Season 3 2005 episode of the Canadian TV series Mayday 4 called Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the U S and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and elsewhere around the world See also editOther North Sea helicopter incidents 1986 British International Helicopters Chinook crash Helikopter Service Flight 451 1997 Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85N 2009 CHC Helikopter Service Flight 241 2016 References edit Aviation Safety Network Archived 27 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine G INFO Database Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Accident Report Helicopter Down Mayday Season 3 Episode 7 2005 Discovery Channel Canada National Geographic Channel Air Accidents Investigation Branch 1997 Aircraft Accident Report 2 97 Report on the accident to Aerospatiale AS32L Super Puma G TIGK in North Sea 6 nm south west of Brae Alpha Oil Production Platform on 19 January 1995 PDF London Her Majesty s Stationery Office ISBN 978 0 11551 973 4 External links editCAA progress report for 1998 p 29 CAA progress report for 1997 p 26 Aviation Safety Network Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C amp oldid 1167303254, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
