Offshore Helicopter Occurrence

ExxonMobil Canada Ltd (ExxonMobil) reported a helicopter occurrence with respect to a flight that was enroute with 2 pilots and  11 passengers to the Thebaud platform.

On July 24, 2019, a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter operated by Canadian Helicopters Offshore (CHO) experienced an unexplained drop in altitude as it approached the Thebaud platform. Once serviceability was confirmed, the helicopter pilots made the decision to return to the heliport at the Halifax International Airport with its passengers.

There were no injuries reported associated with this incident. This incident has been reported by CHO to Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).

This incident remains under investigation by ExxonMobil and CHO, and is being monitored by the CNSOPB.   CHO has suspended passenger flights to offshore platforms until the cause of the incident is understood and any corrective actions that are required have been implemented.

Media Contacts:

CNSOPB
Stacy O’Rourke
sorourke@cnsopb.ns.ca
902-410-6402

CHO
Noel Sampson
nsampson@paatlantic.ca
902-471-0447

ExxonMobil
Lynn Evans
Public Affairs Advisor
lynn.evans@exxonmobil.com
709-273-1583