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What happened?
A helicopter was approaching a vessel, ready to land.
A plastic folding table weighing 20 kg (44 lbs) was stored on deck.
The helicopter downdraft blew the table from its stored position.
The table fell 8 metres (26 feet) to the deck below.
There were no injuries as no one was near the point of impact.
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Why did it happen?
The table was stored in a location susceptible to the helicopter downdraft.
Pre-landing inspections failed to identify the table as being in a hazardous location or as a potential flying object.
Inadequate implementation of lessons learned from a previous similar event.
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What did they learn?
Increase awareness of the hazards associated with helicopter downdraft.
Emphasize the importance of good housekeeping on vessel decks.
Ensure that all items that could be affected by downdraft are secured or removed from helidecks.
-
Ask yourself or your crew
What are the dangers of helicopter downdrafts?
Do you have anything stored in an area that could be affected by downdraft?
- How can you ensure it is properly secured?
- How often is the entire area checked for hazards?
What pre-landing inspections do you carry out on your site/vessel?
What safety measures do we have in place to prevent something like this from happening here? How can we improve?
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What happened?
A helicopter was approaching a vessel, ready to land.
A plastic folding table weighing 20 kg (44 lbs) was stored on deck.
The helicopter downdraft blew the table from its stored position.
The table fell 8 metres (26 feet) to the deck below.
There were no injuries as no one was near the point of impact.
Why did it happen?
The table was stored in a location susceptible to the helicopter downdraft.
Pre-landing inspections failed to identify the table as being in a hazardous location or as a potential flying object.
Inadequate implementation of lessons learned from a previous similar event.
What did they learn?
Increase awareness of the hazards associated with helicopter downdraft.
Emphasize the importance of good housekeeping on vessel decks.
Ensure that all items that could be affected by downdraft are secured or removed from helidecks.
Ask yourself or your crew
What are the dangers of helicopter downdrafts?
Do you have anything stored in an area that could be affected by downdraft?
- How can you ensure it is properly secured?
- How often is the entire area checked for hazards?
What pre-landing inspections do you carry out on your site/vessel?
What safety measures do we have in place to prevent something like this from happening here? How can we improve?
A helicopter was approaching a vessel. The downdraft of the helicopter blew a stored plastic folding table 8 metres (26 feet) to the deck below.
