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The UK’S privatised Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter service could face a shortage of qualified aircrew, according to a new report.
The British defence company Qinetiq has carried out a review into the privatisation of the SAR helicopter service, seen as controversial by some, which since 2015 has been run by Bristow Helicopters in a 10-year deal worth £1.6 billion.
It found that although the transition, which saw the number of SAR UK airbases cut from 12 to 10, and the removal of ageing RAF Sea King helicopters from the service, has been ‘successful’, there were ‘a small number of issues which, if not addressed, may cause risks to SAR capability’.
These include the future of trained aircrew due to the long time it takes to train and the shrinking pool of qualified ex-military aircrew. Qinetiq is recommending that operators are ‘contractually obliged’ to undertake ‘appropriate manpower planning’.
Other issues raised included the increased size of the new helicopters which makes them difficult to land at some sites, including hospitals; the need to improve coordination between UK SAR and the air ambulances to prevent unnecessary aircraft deployment, and the lack of opportunity for rescue services to train with the aircraft.
The financial risk of having a single private company running a vital public service was also raised. It highlighted the case of the British construction company, Carillion, which went into liquidation last year, with liability of almost £7 billion.
‘The failure of Carillion in January 2018 highlights that the risk of operator failure in terms of financial impact of mitigating such a failure should be considered and sufficient planning undertaken to mitigate this risk,’ said Qinetiq in the report.
Bristow Group, which is a minority shareholder in the Uk-based Bristow Helicopters Ltd, voluntarily entered Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection under United States Law in May 2019 and is now restructuring.
At the time, the MCA issued a statement saying Bristow Helicopters and the UK SAR service was ‘entirely unaffected’ by these developments.
Responding to the Qinetiq report, the MCA said it was working closely ‘with all air operators to explore options for the future training requirements’and ‘as part of the future service provision’ it is ‘exploring the current market to understand how services might best be delivered on the balance of risk.’
The agency is also working with SAR partners to ‘more widely understand their operational requirements for training’ and it was in discussions via the UK Emergency Air Response Working Group, to review the provision of hospital landing sites and safeguard lower airspace, which includes the approach pathway to such landing sites.
It added that HM Coastguard and the UK Police ‘work very closely’ to ensure ‘there is a common approach to the tasking and coordination of state-funded aircraft to get the most appropriate asset to incidents. We also work closely with the air ambulances.’
The Qinetiq report also highlighted expanding the scope of non-life threatening SAR operations including using SAR helicopters to move salvers to a vessel to prevent it from grounding or sinking. The MCA said this was being explored and discussions are at a ‘very early stage’.