ROBERT, La.—A dozen or so offshore oil workers showed up in jumpsuits, life vests and helmets for a mandatory water survival course.

“You’re not going to die,” 56-year-old offshore electronics technician Kent Cox reassured a nervous first-timer.

It will only seem like it.

Five people at a time will be tightly strapped into a simulated helicopter fuselage suspended 10 feet above an indoor pool and then take a very deep breath just before plunging into the water.

While captive in a four-point harness under water, the trainees will count to seven then push out the nearest window. They must unbuckle themselves, escape through the window opening and swim to the surface. Not once, but over and over, at accelerating intervals, to a crescendo that a participant described as a simulated near-drowning.

The key to survival is not to panic. Yet panic is the natural response. “The level of displeasure involved, I want to call it traumatic,” said Grace Rivolo, 31 years old, admittedly one of the most terrified in the group. Water and heights are her two biggest fears, she said.

In the final test, the helicopter fuselage is turned upside down, an added degree of difficulty that mixes disquieting spatial disorientation with a gush of water up the nose.

“Everybody hates it,” said instructor Derek Joyner, kicking off a recent class. “No one wants to be here.”


Instructor Derek Joyner, center, inside the model of a helicopter fuselage at the indoor pool facility of the Shell Robert Training and Conference Center in Robert, La.
But they have to be to keep their job. Most large oil-and-gas companies with offshore operations require the training every three or four years for anyone who works on an ocean platform and uses helicopters to get back and forth. That means everybody, including the housekeeping crew, engineers and roustabouts. Even C-suite executives who go offshore have to pass the test.

“I’m not the world’s best swimmer, so it’s not always easy for me,” said Bernard Looney, 52-year-old chief executive of British oil giant BP PLC.

Every year, hundreds of Gulf of Mexico oil workers from various companies land at Shell PLC’s offshore-skills center for Tropical Helicopter Underwater Escape Training, known as T-HUET. The training, and a cold-water version for North Sea workers, is intended to save people if their helicopter goes down over water. The idea is that practicing escapes will make the skills almost automatic if they are required in real life.

Knowing that doesn’t make the daylong training any easier to swallow.

“I have a swimming pool. I have boats. I live on the water, for God’s sake,” said Tom Kelley, a 30-year veteran of Shell, who works in the Gulf of Mexico. “But there’s something about being inside that thing rolled upside down, popping a window out and all that…it’s a little bit much for me personally, you know?”



Instructors in scuba gear monitor the students as they practice escaping the fuselage simulator.
His boss at Shell, CEO Ben van Beurden, is soon to retire after 39 years at the company and multiple HUET training sessions.

“I can say with certainty I won’t miss the trepidation they stir up,” Mr. van Beurden said. But discomfort is the point, he added: “To increase your chance of survival needs equal parts vulnerability, fear and practice.”

Many offshore veterans, having spent careers preparing for such calamities as violent storms, potential explosions and noxious gas leaks, count their time until retirement not in years but in HUETS.

“How many HUETs do you have left?” people ask Kyle Hux, a 60-year-old manager of Shell’s newest Gulf of Mexico platform, Vito. “Well, hopefully I’ve had my last one.”

During the classes, instructors in scuba gear, employed by shipping company Maersk, closely monitor trainees under water. Anyone in trouble can signal for help with the established distress signal—waving hands, usually in front of a terror-stricken face.

If they require rescuing, students must repeat the dunking until they get it right.


Instructor Derek Joyner, left, speaking to trainees harnessed to their seats inside the helicopter fuselage model.

Instructor Sara Rosado under water at the Shell training center.
Instructors say that it shouldn’t take more than 13 seconds to unbuckle and swim to the surface. Most people can easily hold their breath that long. But when things go wrong, it’s hard to stay calm. Windows fail to pop out. Harnesses don’t release. Fight-or-flight responses drown out the drill’s step-by-step instructions.

Sara Rosado, a 33-year-old instructor at the Shell training center, helped teach water survival to the cast of “Top Gun: Maverick,” the blockbuster starring Tom Cruise. Ms. Rosado formerly ran classes in the Navy and said civilian training has different requirements. “We do a lot more coddling,” she said.

Mr. Joyner, the white-bearded 56-year-old veteran instructor, also taught water survival in the military. For that training, drills are often done in darkness, with machine-generated waves, the sound of machine-gun fire blaring from loudspeakers and industrial fans whipping up storm winds.

Also, military instructors yell at you. “I could get in your face and say, ‘You have to do this or you’re gonna die!’ ” Mr. Joyner said. “Apparently the civilian world doesn’t like to hear that very often, so I had to rein myself in.”

Ms. Rivolo, the most anxious of her classmates, works for a contractor that provides drug-testing services for offshore oil-and-gas companies. She and Biscuit, her drug-sniffing Labrador, fly by helicopter to ocean platforms, requiring her to complete the training.



Grace Rivolo, 31 years old, was admittedly one of the most terrified in the group.
The class was touch and go. On one dunk, the harness got caught on her neck, and a diver pulled her free. “She was scared to death,” said David Lowry, one of the instructors. “But she was like, ‘I’m gonna do it.’ ”

For about 15 minutes, Mr. Lowry huddled with Ms. Rivolo, who was strapped to her seat in the suspended helicopter fuselage. He talked her through the feeling of claustrophobia.

When Ms. Rivolo was as ready as she would ever be, she gave a nod. The helicopter fuselage dropped again, hit the water and was jerked upside down.

Seconds passed. When Ms. Rivolo finally broke the surface, sputtering and flapping her hands, her classmates burst into cheers and applause.

“It was triumphant, I guess you could say,” she said. “But I am not counting down the days to the next time.”


Trainees practice escaping from a submerged model of a helicopter fuselage.
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At one point I was asking people at the Naval Hospital in San Diego what one needed to do to get a VIP ride in an F-18.
Apparently one had to go through the "dunk tank" as a prerequisite. Not nearly as bad as this, but not much fun, I think.

You know I think I’m gonna pass on this one.

The Navy Helo Dunker was always a fun time, and we had to re-qual every four years. My least favorite scenarios were the last two rides wearing goggles spray-painted black to simulate night. Those last two rides were always a gut-check for me.

When I did aircrew school in the Navy I found the helo dunker to be fun. I can see a poor swimmer not enjoying it much though.

Why would you have to count to 7 before getting out of the harness? Once it hit the water I would be trying to un-ass right now!

Worst case scenario?

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Why would you have to count to 7 before getting out of the harness?

No actual experience, but we were told it takes that long for shit to stop flying around in and around the helo after it hits the water. Apparently the transmission comes apart inside the cabin, blades are still blending the water outside the cabin, etc.
"Sit tight. Maybe you'll live through the impact. THEN you can release and swim through the debris." Paraphrased, that's what I remember from training.

Add this to the long list of things I'd never want to experience.

I have a friend who was a stewardess for Net Jets for years on Gulfstreams. She had to have recurrent training every year in Savannah and a dunk tank with a Gulfstream fuselage was included.

It must be an age thing. The helo dunker at Pensacola wasn’t a big deal, even with the painted goggles. The biggest thing I remember is planning your route out and being ready to feel your way out. Upside down was a little interesting, but as long as you followed your handholds, still not a big deal.

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
The Navy Helo Dunker was always a fun time, and we had to re-qual every four years. My least favorite scenarios were the last two rides wearing goggles spray-painted black to simulate night. Those last two rides were always a gut-check for me.

My thoughts exactly. This sounds like the kiddie version of the helo dunker we had to do. Yes, the last mass evac of the dunker with blackout goggles and everyone exiting the main door was a fun time. A boot (or two) to the head was not uncommon.

Reading the title of the article I figured this had to be about waterboarding.

Simulated drowning, what a joke. These folks for whatever reason are trying to hype the danger of their occupation and training for a fluff piece human interest story. I mean they give actors water survival training, that has to mean something. What a load.

Doc I think the primary training a civilian would need to go on a military jet ride is the ejection seat training. I doubt that all of the media and actor types who get to go on back seat rides with the Blue Angels take any dunker rides. It could have been a local requirement, but most likely just to have more reasons to tell people no you can't have a ride in the back of our F-18. I can almost guarantee that the military training is more rigorous than what these folks are getting.

In Navy flight school we had to do the various dunkers, one being the single seat that slides down into the water and then flips you over. See the movie Officer and a Gentleman. We also had to do 4 runs in the Dilbert Dunker, or the helo type dunker that these folks were getting to train in. As a Coastie who was going to be flying over water most of my career, I was acutely aware of how valuable this training was.

When I was stationed on a CG Cutter prior to going to flight school we had a helicopter crash while attempting to take off in pretty rough seas. It did what is known as a dynamic rollover. As they were lifting off, the ship rolled abruptly and main wheels on the starboard (right) side of the helo contacted the deck. The pilot pulled full collective in trying to climb quickly away from the deck but all that did was create a nearly infinite rolling arm about that wheel and flipped them right over the side. Since most of the weight of the helo is up high (engine and transmission) they almost immediately go inverted after they impact the water. Even this helo, which was an amphibious HH-52, went inverted but didn't sink immediately. The 3 crew members were all rescued and survived.

I spoke with the 2 pilots afterward as they knew I was going to apply for flight training. They couldn't emphasize enough how the dunker training saved their lives and how realistic the experience was in the dunker.

Being a strong swimmer, scuba and lifeguard trained, I actually enjoyed the dunker training. The blindfolded runs weren't as much fun and neither was getting kicked in the head by one of the other 8 guys in the trainer, but I was never fearful of actually drowning. Plenty of divers around with air to save you if you goof it up.

The reason you wait at least 7 seconds (we were taught to wait as long as it took for the water to stop coming in) is because if you unbelt while the water is still rushing in you will likely be pushed into the back of the hull and will no longer have your familiar handholds to find your way out of the aircraft. Makes it much harder to egress if you are disoriented and have gotten forced into some area of the aircraft with no window.

In the CG we had to do annual water survival, but as a fixed wing guy I didn't have to do the dunker every year. The helo guys did until they developed a smaller trainer they could do in a pool and only had to go back to the big dunker every few years. They of course now have small scuba bottles (used to be called HEEDS) that allow them to breathe and give them more time underwater to ensure that things have settled down before they unbelt and make their way out.

In any case, mil or civilian, that is incredibly valuable training and good on those companies for taking the time and expense to train their employees for the worst case scenario.

I’d volunteer to do this.

Coming soon to a water park near you! Fun for the whole family!

Thanks for the explanation of the 7 seconds. Makes sense now I know!

Dunker training isn’t as bad as it’s being made out to be. I’ve done it. Being underwater and turned upside down no biggie. Just look around and plan your route

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
It must be an age thing. The helo dunker at Pensacola wasn’t a big deal, even with the painted goggles. The biggest thing I remember is planning your route out and being ready to feel your way out. Upside down was a little interesting, but as long as you followed your handholds, still not a big deal.

Some can do that sort of thing, and some cannot. I'd like to think I can, but I don't know, and probably won't have to find out at this point in my life.

Been there , done that , hated it

I’d rather practice it in a pool than do it for the first time in the deep blue.