Sikorsky Orders Safety Checks on Choppers
January 10 2017 - 12:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall and Doug Cameron
Lockheed Martin Corp. said Tuesday that it was ordering
inspections of the global Sikorsky S-92 helicopter fleet following
an accident in the U.K. last month, disrupting use of a workhorse
for the offshore oil and gas industry.
Sikorsky issued a safety alert for the S-92 but isn't grounding
the fleet, which is widely used to carry energy workers and
supplies as well as for search and rescue operations and
transporting VIPs.
Lockheed Martin also is supplying a heavily modified version
that will be used for the new presidential helicopter fleet that
serves as Marine One, with the first due to enter service in
2020.
The move poses another challenge for helicopter operators such
as Bristow Group Inc. that already wrestle with a downturn in
demand because of low energy prices and the aftermath of a fatal
crash involving an Airbus SE Super Puma helicopter off the
Norwegian coast last year.
HeliOffshore, which represents companies involved in North Sea
offshore helicopter operations, said the Sikorsky safety alert
"will disrupt the offshore oil and gas industry in the short
term."
Sikorsky ordered the extra checks after an S-92 operated by CHC
Group Ltd. suffered a malfunction on landing on an oil rig Dec. 28.
Nobody was hurt in the hard landing, which is still under
investigation.
Last year's Super Puma crash led to the fleet's grounding,
leaving operators to scramble to replace the capacity usually
provided by the model that was a mainstay of offshore operations.
The problems with the Airbus helicopter forced operators to lean
more heavily on the Sikorsky model.
Sikorsky said it would take around two days to complete the
11-hour inspections. It said it was working closely with customers
and authorities to determine the cause of the problem. Operators
have been instructed to inspect the tail rotor of their S-92s
before returning them to service.
The British Airline Pilots Association, which represents many of
the pilots laid off because of reductions in services in the North
Sea, said it wanted "to see these checks carried out as quickly and
efficiently as possible so that North Sea and Search and Rescue
operations can return to normal."
Those flying the S-92 also should complete more frequent
inspections until a software fix is provided, Britain's air safety
regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, said.
Shares in Bristow were recently down more than 3% at $18.77. The
stock had doubled since early November as rising oil prices raised
the prospect of improving demand. The company uses the S-92 to
support the energy industry and to provide search and rescue
services for the U.K. government.
A Bristow spokeswoman said checks on its aircraft would take
about six hours each and would have "minimal impact" on its
operations.
CHC, the second-largest offshore operator, filed for chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in May.
The downturn has prompted operators to cancel or defer some new
orders, affecting manufacturers such as Lockheed, Airbus and
Leonardo SpA.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com and Doug Cameron at
doug.cameron@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 10, 2017 12:34 ET (17:34 GMT)
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