F Lynn Clough Venerable HSAC Chairman

Bell Helicopter photo via Bob Petite
Clough’s early flying with Petroleum Helicopters gave him a unique appreciation of
the challenges met by pilots and crews traveling to and from oil platforms in the
Gulf of Mexico.
Not one to waste time, he applied
for a position at Petroleum
Helicopters in Louisiana, and was
hired in March of 1958. He began flying
offshore in a very early 47 J
model with wooden blades, and also
checked out in one of the early
Alouette II helicopters, which were
being introduced in the Gulf of
Mexico at that time. In September of
1958 PHI sent him to Bolivia, where
he flew a Helio Courier and later a
Dehaviland Beaver. His tour of duty
in Bolivia lasted about 26 months and
was highlighted by a most important
event in his life — he met his lovely
wife Sarita. They were married on
May 26, 1959, and returned to the
states in December 1960.
Back in the states, his family persuaded
him to return to the farm in
Missouri. He worked the farm with
his father for about two years, but his
love of aviation dominated, and he
opted to get back to Louisiana, flying
again for PHI in 1963. Then a friend
from Tennessee Gas Transmission,
which became Tenneco, called about
an opening for a helicopter pilot.
Clough applied and was hired on
October 25, 1965, reporting to Al
Hobson, who was Manager of
Helicopter Operations. At that time
Tenneco had only two helicopters,
one in Agawan, Massachusetts, for
pipeline patrol and one in Houma,
Louisiana, for offshore work, where
Clough was assigned.
In 1974, Clough became Manager
of Helicopter Operations after Al
Hobson retired. At that time, the
helicopter fleet was growing with the
addition of twin turbine BO 105 helicopters.
But to back up a little,
Clough tells the story that the fleet
really began to grow when Gardner
Symonds, then Chairman of
Tenneco, had flown in an early Bell
206A in 1964, and was impressed.
He later recommended that the 206
should be added to the fleet. I personally
remember the day that Tony
Zuma, Director of Flight
Operations, arrived at the Bell
offices in Hurst, Texas, unannounced
and asked for a salesman. I walked
him back to my desk and he seemed
a little reluctant as he told me “I’ve
got to buy a helicopter.” Their first
206A was assigned to the Tenneco
office in Houston. Later each of the
eight pipeline divisions had one. At
the end of Clough’s career, the
Tenneco helicopter fleet had grown
to about 12 BO 105 helicopters.
In 1979, the oil industry experienced
several disastrous offshore
accidents, resulting in the loss of
lives. The growing problem generated
widespread concern and substantial
discussion among the helicopter
operators and the oil industry.
Then, a major accident involving a
Penzoil operation occurred, resulting
in 19 fatalities, when an offshore
crane struck a large turbine helicopter.
This, along with previous accidents,
caused the International
Association of Drilling Contractors
(IADC) to call for a meeting of
applicable helicopter operators and
other parties for a discussion of the
problem and possible action. The
meeting was sponsored by the
Safety Committee of the IADC,
and was held in Houston on
February 8, 1978.
The original participants of that
first meeting, who would become
members of the committee, included:
Jack Piehl (Shell Oil Co.),
Chuck Setzer (Gulf Oil), Clough
Clough (Tenneco, Inc.), Lonnie Nail
(Tenneco Oil Co.), Owen Guidry
(Petroleum Helicopters), John
Brown (Evergreen Helicopters,
Inc.), Jim Grant (Evergreen
Helicopters, Inc.), Don
Groenemann (Evergreen
Helicopters, Inc.), Thomas H.
Marlow (Evergreen Helicopters,
Inc.), James L. Culpepper (Air
Logistics), Ed Seymour (Tenneco,
Inc.), E.E. Rhodes (Mobil Oil),
Herman Moore (Chevron Oil), Park
Jones (Houston Helicopters),
Thomas Howarth (Offshore
Helicopters, Inc.), and James Jay
(Marlin Drilling Co.).
The result of this meeting was an
agreement to work together to promote
improved safety in offshore
helicopter operations, to evaluate
procedures and address specific
operational problems. They also
unanimously agreed to become the
Helicopter Safety Advisory
Committee, affiliated with IADC.
Additionally, recognizing the need
for leadership, Clough was elected
chairman of the committee.
Shortly thereafter, a follow-up
meeting was scheduled to set direction
and procedures. For the first six
months of its existence, the dedicated
committee met monthly. After
that, the schedule was changed to
meeting bimonthly, and finally, after
about a year, the quarterly schedule
was adopted and continues today.
Participation in HSAC has grown to
about 115 members, including oil
companies, drilling contractors,
service companies, helicopter manufacturers,
and helicopter operators.
Additionally, several branches of the
U.S. government and the U.S. mili-
44 FALL 2006