Improved Helicopter Crash Training Facilities for Offshore Workers

Offshore oil industry workers in Canada now have access to greater and more improved helicopter crash survival training . The Marine Institute has announced newly improved facilities for workers in the country’s offshore industry.

The Offshore Safety and Survival Center located in Foxtrap, Canada has invested in new survival equipment that is meant to make training much more effective. The training equipment has been designed to simulate a helicopter crash in the Atlantic Ocean.

The improvement in these training facilities comes after recommendations by a retired Canadian judge. After an inquiry into safety in the offshore helicopter industry, retired judge Robert Wells called upon helicopter operators to ensure that workers receive better training to survive a crash. The recommendations came after the fatal Cougar Helicopters crash that killed 17 oil rig workers.

Judge Wells wanted simulation that closely resembles actual helicopter crashes in the Atlantic Ocean. The new facilities have been designed to mirror the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter which crashed in that incident. The Offshore Safety and Survival Center includes a massive wave tank which can be used to generate real ocean conditions during a crash. The Center has invested a lot of effort to make sure that the simulation real-world conditions as much as possible, including the use of thunder and lighting effects, rolling waves, and heavy rain.

The training program has been designed to be as intense as possible, in order to equip oil rig workers with the survival techniques that they will need if they actually find themselves in an offshore helicopter crash situation.

The maritime law attorneys at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers  help families of offshore oil rig workers who have been killed in helicopter crashes recover compensation for their losses.