“there are some dirt roads from the towns to the river (the journey takes two days- walking in the jungle)”
“The only current alternatives to visit the project areas are by helicopter or long overnight walks thought the jungle. By helicopter (we have done this before) it is necessary to fly to Puerto Maldonado city and then go by road (Interoceanica highway) to Mazuco district approximately three hours trip. In Mazuco the helicopter will take you to the project area.”
“Our role is more to coordinate with Acres to help feed information requested by Samsung and [Mr Woo] is expecting our London team to join for that role ...... I do not think Samsung’s intention is to offer to pay for travel expenses for [StormHarbour]. We are mandated by Acres, who should absorb travel costs if we are not going to”
“6 June 07:15 Transport to heliport 08:00 Flight Cuzco – San Gaban (in two helicopters) 08:45 Visit- San Gaban Power Plant 12:30 Flight San Gaban – Cuzco 13:15 Transport 7 June 07:15 Transport to heliport 08:00 Flight Cuzco – project area (in two helicopters) - Cuzco 14:00 Transport”
“I have discussed this at length with Tomas and he has decided to make himself available for the week. He has yet to explain to Mrs Dusek and his kids, so please say nothing when he walks in with a limp to your office. Please Confirm authorization and payment of fare by Acres”
“5 June 07:15 Transport to heliport 08:00 Flight Cuzco – San Gaban (in two helicopters) 08:45 Visit- San Gaban Power Plant 12:30 Flight San Gaban – Cuzco 13:15 Transport 6 June 07:15 Transport to heliport 08:00 Flight Cuzco – project area (in two helicopters) - Cuzco 14:00 Transport”
“Travel Approval- Peru- June 4-15 Hi Terry This is a request to approve travel for Paul and I to Peru on June 4-15th. Samsung + K-Water of Korea are sending 13 persons to Peru for on-site due diligence for New Hope from 3rd June for 11 days. This is a very important event to close the deal, with a packed schedule, including site visit to the project area and high level meetings such as with the President of Peru, the Prime Minister, etc. Samsung has requested SH London team to participate. Travel & accommodation costs will be reimbursed by ACRES as per previous trips. Please let us know if you have any questions.”
“6 June 07:15 Transport to heliport 08:00 Flight Cusco – project area - Cusco 15:00 Transport to Monasterio Hotel”
“one observes the presence of low cloud, which may have been the reason for the initial change in the helicopter’s route: not to continue towards Paucartambo, as had been the plan, and opting to turn to the left and, taking the Interoceanic Highway as a reference, to head for Urcos”
“Now it is true that in Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co. Ltd. v. English[1938] AC 57 Lord Wright divided up the duty of a master into three main headings, for convenience of definition or argument; but all three are ultimately only manifestations of the same duty of the master to take reasonable care so to carry out his operations as not to subject those employed by him to unnecessary risk. Whether the servant is working on the premises of the master or those of a stranger, that duty is still, as it seems to me, the same; but as a matter of common sense its performance and discharge will probably be vastly different in the two cases. The master's own premises are under his control: if they are dangerously in need of repair he can and must rectify the fault at once if he is to escape the censure of negligence. But if a master sends his plumber to mend a leak in a respectable private house, no one could hold him negligent for not visiting the house himself to see if the carpet in the hall creates a trap. Between these extremes are countless possible examples in which the court may have to decide the question of fact: Did the master take reasonable care so to carry out his operations as not to subject those employed by him to unnecessary risk? Precautions dictated by reasonable care when the servant works on the master's premises may be wholly prevented or greatly circumscribed by the fact that the place of work is under the control of a stranger. Additional safeguards intended to reinforce the man's own knowledge and skill in surmounting difficulties or dangers may be reasonable in the former case but impracticable and unreasonable in the latter. So viewed, the question whether the master was in control of the premises ceases to be a matter of technicality and becomes merely one of the ingredients, albeit a very important one, in a consideration of the question of fact whether, in all the circumstances, the master took reasonable care.”
“….employers who send their workmen to work on the premises of others cannot renounce all responsibility for their safety. The employers still have an overriding duty to take reasonable care not to expose their men to unnecessary risk. They must, for instance, take reasonable care to devise a safe system of work, see General Cleaning Contractors Ltd. v. Christmas[1953] AC 180 : and if they know or ought to know of a danger on the premises to which they send their men, they ought to take reasonable care to safeguard them from it. What is reasonable care depends, of course, on the circumstances, see Wilson v. Tyneside Window Cleaning Co. [1958] 2 Q.B. 110.”
“It is clear that in determining an employer's responsibility one has to look at all the circumstances of the case, including the place where the work is to be done, the nature of the building on the site concerned (if there is a building), the experience of the employee who is so despatched to work at such a site, the nature of the work he is required to carry out, the degree of control that the employer can reasonably exercise in the circumstances, and the employer's own knowledge of the defective state of the premises..”
“[24] The weight of the evidence is that Ark did not implement a practice of ensuring that its employees went to their general practitioners or took other medical advice to make sure all relevant inoculations were identified and received. At best, on occasions there were references to jabs being up to date and the need for yellow fever vaccination. None of the employees who went to the Oceanic rig was told that he must consult his doctor and take advice about protection and precautions. Mr. Palfrey was in effect told there was no need to do so. There was a clear failure on the part of Ark to take reasonable care to ensure the safety of Mr. Palfrey in the course of his employment, which included travel to and from the rig.”
“Mountain flying is highly demanding due to rapidly changing weather conditions and turbulence. Turbulence is a particular issue for helicopter mountain ops and can disrupt the airflow around the rotor disc causing lift to be disrupted and extra stresses to be placed on the rotor blades. In addition, up and down draughts can have a dramatic impact on the flight path of the aircraft when operating at or near the edge of the performance envelope. For this reason, experienced mountain pilots never fly directly towards ridges and choose instead to make oblique crossing so that, in the event of downdraught, the aircraft can be turned away from the rock face. Therefore, the implication of operating outside of the performance envelope in these conditions is hazardous in the extreme.”
“Pilots operating in the mountains should be aware of the volatility of the weather and the techniques to avoid severe updrafts, downdrafts and turbulence, as well as the need to maintain visual contact, or to fly above Safety Altitude if in IMC. Safety Altitude in the case of this sector would, in my opinion, have needed to be at least 1500 ft above the highest ground or obstacle within 10 miles of intended route, or such greater limits as may have been specified for safety in the company operation manual.”
“A. Mountainous, high mountains. The whole area really was mountainous with some valleys, with isolated valleys in the mountains, but still at relatively high altitude. Q. By comparison with other mountain ranges you are familiar with say, for example, the Alps where you trained with the French? A. Much more inhospitable than the Alps in terms of territory, very what one might call hostile territory, hostile terrain. Q. Why? A. Because the nature of the relief, the steep-sidedness of it, the cragginess, the general very high altitude which would be close to the operating limits of many helicopters, and the probable lack of many areas suitable for forced landings would make it what might be called inhospitable or hostile territory.”
“At or near its maximum operation altitude the cleared airspeed envelope is restricted for reasons of aircraft controllability and airframe fatigue. The aircraft is less responsive than at low altitude and needs careful handling to reduce the possibility of blade stall, which can lead to loss of lift and to possible control problems. Reduced air density also degrades climb performance, so a sudden need to climb, for example to clear an obstacle, would be difficult.”
“A. The cross-section there gives you an indication that Cusco is an extremely high airport. I think it is probably the highest airfield in the Andes Mountains and then to go up from there, the top line is obviously 15,000 feet. Go across the ridge and then drop down to Paucartambo so it followed the valley route to get over that ridge which, given where Cusco is and given that this area is, you know, very inaccessible so helicopters are one of the few ways of which you can get around this area, I would assume that Paucartambo is a standard route for people flying out of Cusco to transit across, be it in the S-58, be it the AS350B3, to get out of Cusco to get across because if you go on to the next page you can see as you come from Paucartambo you drop away off the mountains. Q. Thank you, Mr Nash. Is it fair to say your margin of course depends upon the weather and the temperature? A. It does, yes, because it's a density altitude calculation not a straight flight. Q. So there's absolutely no room for any deviation from that planned, original planned route? A. No. Q. None at all? A. No. …. …. A. By exceeding the aircraft limitation ….you are stepping outside of the flight envelope of the aircraft when you start exceeding the limitations of the aircraft and by definition you are into unchartered territory. Therefore, your safety margin's reduced. The further you go away from the envelope, the further your safety margin is reduced. Q. I think the phrase you used in your witness statement: "The implication of operating outside of the performance envelope in these conditions is hazardous in the extreme." A. Absolutely and I stand by that statement.”
“As previously mentioned, from my research, there is no weather radar in Peru. The only detailed Met. Information available would have been able to get a general picture of where the forecast weather deterioration was in the area. There was absolutely no possibility of getting accurate data for weather along their route short of actual observation from the ground – given the total lack of habitation and localised weather in the mountains, this was not an option.”
“Cloud formation in the mountains can be unpredictable. Orographic effects of wind with updrafts and downdrafts can result in roll cloud formation. Winds are largely affected by contours and the relief, with increased wind strengths due to funnel effects, and turbulence, particularly in the lee of ridge lines, I have personal experience of unexpected roll cloud formation during night in Snowdonia, UK; and I am well acquainted with a fatal accident in the mountains of Papua New Guinea caused when a helicopter suddenly entered such rapidly forming cloud.”
“it was highly recommended not to say mandatory not to fly out from Cusco going to the orient, to the east, to the Amazon, due to the fact that it's known to be an unstable weather region with a high mountains. That's why we never quoted flights going out from Cusco to the Amazon part on the east side.”
“….a helicopter's enemy is high and hot and in Peru we have one of the most toughest conditions on earth. It's probably one of the fourth/fifth countries most difficult to fly because we have both enemies of the helicopter together at the same time at the same place. We have high elevation, high altitude. Remember that you have to cross Andes at the height of the Mont Blanc or higher and then you have temperature which are ISO plus 20, which is a reference, just say that in Cusco you have 20/25 degrees temperature sometimes at 10.00 or 11.00 in the morning and you are at 10,800 feet. Can you imagine in Europe or in United States at 10,800 feet you are at minus 10 or minus 15, okay, degrees.”
“Thanks Terry Both Antonio and Water are aware of the Samsung DD trip. We’ve been having lengthy conversations with Antonio regarding a request for a retainer from ACRES and we’ve also been discussing with HH & Water the possibility that HH might attend, but it’s a very long and expensive flight (more than the costs of Paul and I put together) and too long time to commit. The Korean group consists mainly of engineers, not high level managers. In short, I think Antonio and / or Water should attend the closing, rather than sit through due diligence.”
“Q. … What are your duties as a company towards your employees in regards their health and safety? A. To ensure that they -- where they travel is safe.”
“Q. …I am not asking you what you would do now. I know everyone can learn lessons from the past. I am asking you as to whether you say as the person in charge of health and safety that you believe in May/June 2012 that the company fulfilled its duty of care to Tomas Dusek in relation to that helicopter flight A. I did not know nor did the company know -- I didn't know, forget about the company, I didn't know until very late that a helicopter -- Tomas was possibly going on a helicopter. Q. But you did know. A. At the 11th hour, yes. Q. And you did nothing? A. And I did nothing, that's correct. Q. So how did you or the company fulfil your duty of care to Mr Tomas Dusek when he got on that helicopter? A. I did not. Q. You didn't? A. No, I did not. Q. Do you believe the company did fulfil its duty? A. No, I do not.”
“We explained to Acres that for safety they should travel by coach from Cusco to Mazuco Airfield and Mazuco Airfield would then be the base for operations. The coach journey only takes four hours. The road has recently been completed and is in very good condition. We explained that to get from Cusco to Mazuco Airfield by helicopter you have to cross the Andes Mountains which is very high. This limits the capacity of the helicopter to carry passengers because the more passengers that a helicopter carries the lower the maximum altitude that it can be safely operated at, and furthermore because of the high altitude of Cusco you are limited in the total load that you can carry without breaching regulations for maximum takeoff weight. Given the number of passengers that Acres wanted to carry we did not feel that a helicopter could be safely operated to cross the Andes. It was a much safer option to start from Mazuco Airfield.”