The Times (UK): Helicopter squeeze as oilmen grow too fat to fly
“The worst helicopter crash was in November 1986 when a Chinook carrying Shell workers plummeted into the sea off the coast of Shetland in stormy weather. Some 45 people were killed.”
Wednesday 31 August 2005
By David Lister, Scotland Correspondent
IT IS not quite time to start reinforcing rigs, but oil workers are becoming so fat that fewer will be allowed into the helicopters that take them out to their offshore platforms.
The image of oil workers as lean, hard-working “roughnecks” was dealt a blow yesterday after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that it was issuing new passenger weight allocations for offshore helicopters.
Although most oil platforms now provide a range of healthy meals and some even offer aerobics classes, the CAA said that it had been forced to issue the new requirements after a survey found evidence of expanding offshore waistlines.