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Helicopters' lesser safety equipment may mean you need an aviation accident attorney

A $22,000 piece of equipment could have saved the lives of eight offshore oil workers and two pilots whose helicopter crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on the evening of March 24, 2004. That was one of the conclusions made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) nearly two years to the day after the accident.

A terrain-awareness warning system could have alerted the pilots that they were heading down towards the water, not in level flight. In an NTSB statement, Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said that the $22,000 system "would have given the pilots enough time to arrest their descent and save the lives of all aboard." The report recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that all helicopters carrying six or more passengers be required to have the warning system installed. Airplanes that carry six or more passengers have had this regulation in place since 2000.

The report also noted that the flight crew missed "missed numerous cues to indicate that the aircraft was descending toward the water" – basically, they were not paying attention, and flew straight into the Gulf at high speed.

The investigation took longer to complete because the helicopter did not have a flight data recorder, and the voice cockpit recorder was improperly installed. As a result, conversations between the flight crew that are crucial to finding out the chain of events before the crash were "almost unusable."

Helicopters are a familiar site in the Gulf, transporting workers and supplies to the oilrigs, shore bases, and ships out on the water. Most days, there are 4,000 flights to and from the Texan coast, and on shift change days, which occur about twice per month, there are closer to 9,000 flights in one 24-hour period. About 2 million offshore oil workers are transported to and from the Gulf by helicopter every year.

Although helicopter companies are passenger-based businesses like the major airlines, passengers are not nearly as protected. Helicopters do not have the same safety standards as other types of aircraft, and are not required to carry some of the most basic pieces of equipment like terrain-awareness and flight data recorder. Helicopter inspections happen infrequently compared to fixed-wing craft (airplanes). With FAA cutbacks, this is unlikely to change. There are more things likely to go wrong in a helicopter, and less safety nets to save those aboard if they do.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a helicopter accident, contact Jim S. Adler & Associates. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries to cover lost wages, medical bills, pain and anguish. Call us today toll-free at 1-800-505-1414 for a free case review, or click on the link on this page.