Thierry Dubois is a freelance writer specializing in helicopters, business aviation and aerospace technology. He earned a degree in fluid dynamics from an engineering school in Toulouse, France in the mid-1990s. At an unexpected crossroads, he found his first job in journalism. In 1997, he started working for French aerospace weekly Air &amp; Cosmos in Paris. This lasted until 2000, when he moved south to Lyons. He then became a freelancer, working for various aerospace publications and has been part of the AIN team since late 2000. In addition to writing about business aviation, Thierry shares responsibility for the rotorcraft section. He also is a regular on-site writer for AIN’s daily editions at international airshows such as the Paris, Farnborough, Dubai and Singapore shows, as well as at EBACE in Geneva.
In 2007, he won the Honeywell award for “Best systems or technology submission” at the Aerospace journalist of the year awards. In 2013, he won an Aerospace Media Award for the "Best Safety, Training &amp; Simulation Submission."
In other activities, Thierry moderates international conferences on aviation technology topics. Thierry is married and has three children, who seem to begin enjoying the mountains–as their parents do.

Writer

Thierry Dubois

The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published a further “special bulletin” late last week in its investigation into the controlled ditching of a Bond-operated EC225 medium twin in May in the North Sea, confirming an earlier hint by Eurocopter that the emergency lubrication system gave the pilots a false failure warning.
According to the AAIB, the crew had received indications that both the primary and backup (emergency) gearbox lubrication systems had failed. The latter warning illuminated 32 seconds after the crew activated the emergency lubrication system, and AAIB investigators subsequently found no leak in the backup system.
Moreover, the back-up pump was operating normally from the time the system was activated until the aircraft ditched, the investigators determined. They also suggested that the bleed-air pressure sensor triggered the warning. The AAIB noted that, during development of the EC225, no test was performed on the complete backup system, either on a test rig or installed on the helicopter itself.
Yesterday a CHC-operated EC225 performed a controlled ditching in the North Sea. All 19 occupants were rescued safely. In the meantime, CHC, Bond Helicopters and Bristow have grounded the 29 EC225 and AS332 Super Pumas that transport workers to offshore North Sea oil platforms.

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