As part of efforts to reiterate the company’s commitment to safety in view of the recent ditching of one of its helicopter on February 3, 2016, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bristow Group Incorporation, Jonathan Baliff and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jeremy Akel has visited.
They were joined by several members of the Nigerian senior management team, including Vice President of Operations Mike Imlach, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jeremy Akel to meet with clients, partners and government officials last week.
A statement by Bristow Helicopters disclosed that the team also met with employees at Port Harcourt and Lagos to reinforce Bristow’s commitment to Nigeria.
The rotary giant commended employees for their continued commitment to safety and their unwavering dedication to the operations in general.
The statement further revealed that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has performed a post incident audit of Bristow’s operations in Nigeria and has also authorised Bristow to start test flights of the S-76 fleet.
Bristow added that following the successful conclusion of the test flights to further demonstrate the safety of the S-76 fleet and Bristow’s operations, the airline applied to the NCAA.
Approval, the airline, stated that was granted for a non-revenue flight of its Sikorsky S-76C aircraft with registration number 5N-BIL to convey the President Jonathan Baliff to Bristow bases in Nigeria.
“My recent visit with our team members in Nigeria was outstanding in so many ways. The team truly represents Bristow’s Core Values, especially our number one Core Value which is Safety in everything we do and say. I saw this first hand as I flew in the S-76 on February 26. I have also met with clients who reiterated their commitment to Bristow, as well as government officials who are very appreciative of what Bristow has done over the years in Nigeria.” The president was quoted to have said.
Jonathan reiterated that the company was working closely with the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) in its investigation to determine the cause and cited the ongoing work with Sikorsky related to Bristow’s comprehensive return to service process as well as getting the S-76 fleet back into operation.
Bristow stated that it has confident in the Sikorsky S-76 fleet, adding that the company would engage an independent third party to conduct an additional review of Bristow’s operations in Nigeria, with the expectation that such initiative would also extend to include the review of other similar entities across the Nigerian oil and gas industry so that best practices can be shared laterally across all operators to further enhance safety.