Helicopters - What`s the matter with Bristow? - Avionics

Nigerian Oil Asked to Nix Bristow Contracts Ahead of Accident Investigation

A Nigerian news source reported today that the country’s oil production companies have been ordered to cease all contracts with Bristow Helicopters while an investigation continues into the Feb. 3 nonfatal crash of an S-76 C++ offshore transport helicopter.

Nigeria’s THISDAY said it obtained a Feb. 14 letter from the National Petroleum Investment Management Services to Total Upstream Nigeria, Ltd., an oil production sharing contract company. In the letter, NAPIMS directs all production sharing contract and joint venture companies “to terminate all aviation contracts awarded to Bristow Helicopters in accordance with the provisions of the aviation contracts”. 

“We are aware that a number of our clients have received a letter from the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) requesting termination of Bristow’s services,” Bristow told R&WI. ”We have engaged the authority and other government officials on the matter.”

Bristow added it is in full compliance of all Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority regulatory requirements and Sikorsky operating directives, and continues to fully cooperate with Nigeria’s Accident Investigation Bureau in its investigation into the Feb. 3 accident.

Additionally, Bristow is conducting additional safety assurance checks on the Sikorsky S-76 fleet as a precautionary measure prior to returning the aircraft to service. It said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has performed a comprehensive audit, and has authorized Bristow to start test flights of the S-76 C++.

On Feb. 3, a Bristow helicopter captain successfully ditched a Sikorsky S-76C++ in the Atlantic Ocean after departing from an offshore platform. All nine passengers and both crewmembers were rescued alive. The previous August, another Bristow S-76C crash in Nigeria claimed the lives of two pilots and four of the 10 passengers on board. Nigerian authorities have issued a temporary suspension of Bristow’s S-76 fleet and have begun investigating the cause of the most-recent accident.