scholarly journals Characterization of Fatal Injuries in Oil and Gas Industry-Related Helicopter Accidents in the Gulf of Mexico, 2004–2014

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Yeoman ◽  
Mary B O'Connor ◽  
Gerald Poplin ◽  
Sara Sochor
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Leg Injuries ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Government Records ◽  
Minor Injuries

Abstract Background: Transportation events are the most common cause of offshore fatalities in the oil and gas industry, and helicopter accidents comprise the majority of transportation events. Little is known about injury distributions in civilian helicopter crashes, and helicopter passengers continue to die in crashes that are considered survivable. Knowledge of injury distributions could focus research and recommendations for injury prevention and post-crash survival. The objective of this study was to describe the distribution of injuries among fatalities in oil and gas industry-related helicopter accidents in the Gulf of Mexico. Methods: Pilots and passengers of accidents during 2004–2014 were identified from government records and media reports. Autopsy reports were requested from the responsible jurisdictions. Each documented injury was coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and frequency and proportion of injuries by AIS body region and severity were calculated. Injuries were also categorized into more detailed body regions to identify focused areas of prevention and control. Results: Minor injuries were most prevalent in the face, neck, upper and lower extremities, and abdomen. Serious or worse injuries were most prevalent in the thorax, spine, head, and external/other regions. The most frequent injuries by detailed body regions were thoracic organ, thoracic skeletal, abdominal organ, and leg injuries. Drowning occurred in 37.1% of victims.Conclusions: The proportion of minor, moderate, and severe or worse injuries differed by body region, and the most frequent injuries occurred in the thorax and lower extremity regions.

scholarly journals Characterization of fatal injuries in oil and gas industry-related helicopter accidents in the Gulf of Mexico, 2004–2014

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Yeoman ◽  
Mary B. O’Connor ◽  
Sara Sochor ◽  
Gerald Poplin
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Safety Features

Abstract Background Transportation events are the most common cause of offshore fatalities in the oil and gas industry, of which helicopter accidents comprise the majority. Little is known about injury distributions in civilian helicopter crashes, and knowledge of injury distributions could focus research and recommendations for enhanced injury prevention and post-crash survival. This study describes the distribution of injuries among fatalities in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry-related helicopter accidents, provides a detailed injury classification to identify potential areas of enhanced safety design, and describes relevant safety features for mitigation of common injuries. Methods Decedents of accidents during 2004–2014 were identified, and autopsy reports were requested from responsible jurisdictions. Documented injuries were coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and frequency and proportion of injuries by AIS body region and severity were calculated. Injuries were categorized into detailed body regions to target areas for prevention. Results A total of 35 autopsies were coded, with 568 injuries documented. Of these, 23.4% were lower extremity, 22.0% were thorax, 13.6% were upper extremity, and 13.4% were face injuries. Minor injuries were most prevalent in the face, neck, upper and lower extremities, and abdomen. Serious or worse injuries were most prevalent in the thorax (53.6%), spine (50.0%), head (41.7%), and external/other regions (75.0%). The most frequent injuries by detailed body regions were thoracic organ (23.0%), thoracic skeletal (13.3%), abdominal organ (9.6%), and leg injuries (7.4%). Drowning occurred in 13 (37.1%) of victims, and drowning victims had a higher proportion of moderate brain injuries (7.8%) and lower number of documented injuries (3.8) compared with non-drowning victims (2.9 and 9.4%, respectively). Conclusions Knowledge of injury distributions focuses and prioritizes the need for additional safety features not routinely used in helicopters. The most frequent injuries occurred in the thorax and lower extremity regions. Future research requires improved and expanded data, including collection of detailed data to allow characterization of both injury mechanism and distribution. Improved safety systems including airbags and helmets should be implemented and evaluated for their impact on injuries and fatalities.

scholarly journals Characterization of Fatal Injuries in Oil and Gas Industry-Related Helicopter Accidents in the Gulf of Mexico, 2004–2014

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Yeoman ◽  
Mary B O'Connor ◽  
Sara Sochor ◽  
Gerald Poplin
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Safety Features

Abstract Background: Transportation events are the most common cause of offshore fatalities in the oil and gas industry, of which helicopter accidents comprise the majority. Little is known about injury distributions in civilian helicopter crashes, and knowledge of injury distributions could focus research and recommendations for enhanced injury prevention and post-crash survival. This study describes the distribution of injuries among fatalities in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry-related helicopter accidents, provides a detailed injury classification to identify potential areas of enhanced safety design, and describes relevant safety features for mitigation of common injuries.Methods: Decedents of accidents during 2004–2014 were identified, and autopsy reports were requested from responsible jurisdictions. Documented injuries were coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and frequency and proportion of injuries by AIS body region and severity were calculated. Injuries were categorized into detailed body regions to target areas for prevention.Results: A total of 35 autopsies were coded, with 568 injuries documented. Of these, 23.4% were lower extremity, 22.0% were thorax, 13.6% were upper extremity, and 13.4% were face injuries. Minor injuries were most prevalent in the face, neck, upper and lower extremities, and abdomen. Serious or worse injuries were most prevalent in the thorax (53.6%), spine (50.0%), head (41.7%), and external/other regions (75.0%). The most frequent injuries by detailed body regions were thoracic organ (23.0%), thoracic skeletal (13.3%), abdominal organ (9.6%), and leg injuries (7.4%). Drowning occurred in 13 (37.1%) of victims, and drowning victims had a higher proportion of moderate brain injuries (7.8%) and lower number of documented injuries (3.8) compared with non-drowning victims (2.9% and 9.4%, respectively).Conclusions: Knowledge of injury distributions focuses and prioritizes the need for additional safety features not routinely used in helicopters. The most frequent injuries occurred in the thorax and lower extremity regions. Future research requires improved and expanded data, including collection of detailed data to allow characterization of both injury mechanism and distribution. Improved safety systems including airbags and helmets should be implemented and evaluated for their impact on injuries and fatalities.

Contract Drillers and Causal Histories along the Gulf of Mexico

2003 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. McGuire ◽  
Andrew Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Product Market ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Employment Insecurity ◽  
Significant Events

Corporate mergers in the oil and gas industry in the late 1990s were accompanied by reduced spending for exploration and drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf of the gulf of mexico, even though oil prices were skyrocketing. this lack of response to a favorable price environment is an anomaly for product market theories and can better be understood within a framework of causal history. This approach begins with significant events and traces specific causes and consequences. One significant consequence of the mergers is a redefinition of loyalty among a workforce exposed to increasing employment insecurity.

Montara: broader implications

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 721
Author(s):  
Jane Cutler
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Inherent Safety ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Safety Critical ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Fail Safe ◽  
Economic Future

After almost two years, the implications of the Montara incident and the more recent Macondo disaster are still evolving. Failure of safety critical barriers led to the Montara blowout and spill. Why did these barriers fail and what are the associated lessons for operators, regulators and governments? There are parallels with the Macondo Incident in the Gulf of Mexico and while many of the insights are particular to drilling, there are others that are applicable to other activities in the oil and gas industry. While the deepest impacts of the Macondo disaster are felt by the families and friends of those who were killed and injured, the broader implications affect the oil and gas industry itself, other industries that expect to co-exist with the petroleum industry, governments and communities, and all those—employees and investors—whose economic future is linked with the industry. Questions we should all be asking include: Is a particular operator competent enough to prevent problems? Can they afford to pay should things go wrong? Are today’s facilities being designed and built to maximise inherent safety ? Do they automatically fail safe when things go wrong ? Have we set up our regulators for success?

Gulf of Mexico Sub-Surface Jet Screening

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gus Jeans ◽  
Shejun Fan
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Screening Criteria ◽  
Submerged Jet ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Screening Study ◽  
Surface Jet

There have been reports of strong submerged jet currents in the Gulf of Mexico in recent years which have implications for the design and operation of some offshore facilities. This paper describes the methodology and results of a screening study which searched for such events within the extensive body of recent data collected by the offshore oil and gas industry, made available on the NOAA National Data Buoy Center web site. This study was conducted on behalf of a consortium of industry clients with participation by relevant US government bodies. After a first phase investigation, initially well defined screening criteria were revised to avoid the numerous events triggered by clearly invalid data and the potential for missing some critical submerged events. The automatic screening criteria were replaced by manual event selection based on plots showing all available data. The identified events fall into the following broad categories: • Submerged speed peaks due to inertial period currents, most notable after the 2005 hurricanes. • A few submerged jet like events isolated in time with no clear periodicity. • Submerged speed peaks with high vertical and error velocities and often incoherent structures. • Persistent high speed currents near the limit of the ADCP range.

Oil and Gas Platform Ocean Current Profile Data from the Northern Gulf of Mexico

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Richard L. Crout
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Current Profile ◽  
Profile Data ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Platforms ◽  
Inertial Currents

AbstractApproximately 40 deep water oil production platforms and drilling rigs continue to provide real-time current profile data to NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). The NDBC receives and quality controls the data and transmits it over the Global Telecommunications System. The NDBC stores the raw binary current profile data where it can be extracted in order to forecast the Loop Current and Loop Eddies for oil and transportation concerns in the Gulf of Mexico and to investigate the oceanography of the northern Gulf of Mexico. After quality control, the NDBC also stores the processed data.In addition to aiding the oil and gas industry to understand and design for the forces in the water column generated by strong currents in the Gulf of Mexico, the three years of ocean profile data show a number of oceanographic phenomena. This paper presents an examination of the Loop Current and associated eddies based on the oil and gas industry data. The high currents of the Loop Current that extend to several hundred meters depth are present and generally impact oil platforms as it moves into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Loop Eddies exhibit many of the same characteristics as the Loop Current, then move into the western Gulf of Mexico to impact oil platforms there before currents diminish. Cyclonic eddies formed from interactions between the Loop Current and topographic or land features are also present. Five-day plots of the current profiles show the passage of eddies. Wind-driven inertial currents propagate throughout the water column in all regions of the Gulf. The current profiles from delayed-mode, bottom-mounted profilers show that hurricane-generated near-inertial currents reach great depths.

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