Out to Sea

Flight Safety Foundation is expanding its Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) program to target the safety issues that plague offshore helicopter operations worldwide.

The Basic Aviation Risk Standard for Offshore Helicopter Operations (BARS OHO), released in late May, is aimed at identifying and mitigating “the unique threats associated with this challenging environment” — including controlled flight into water, wrong-deck landings and helideck obstacles, the Foundation said in announcing the new standard.

“Having BARS OHO focused solely on offshore helicopter operations enables the unique threats associated with this challenging environment to be identified and mitigated,” the Foundation said. “Drawing on all available industry guidance and practices and developed with global industry expertise, this resulting international standard represents leading practice and addresses recent advances within the offshore sector.”