9-Oct-2011Source: HAI
Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the HAI Government Contracting Committee meeting and HAI Helicopter Firefighting Safety Forum in Boise, Idaho on Nov. 14, 15 & 16. Meetings will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Boise Spectrum. Attendees should contact the hotel directly to make a room reservation. The HAI Government Contracting... Read more
16-Sep-2011Source: AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the Public Security Bureau of Ordos, in China’s Inner Mongolia, has ordered two GrandNew twin-engine helicopters. The two helicopters will be used to perform fire fighting, rescue, observation, transport and civil protection duties. The GrandNew was selected, following a tender process and a comprehensive evaluation of... Read more
8-Sep-2011Source: Night Flight Concepts
Night Flight Concepts, a leading provider of night vision solutions, announced today that the Los Angeles County Fire Department Air Operations Section has successfully completed certification training of the Night Vision Goggle (NVG) Lighting Conformity Test Kit. Los Angeles Country Fire is now equipped and trained to monitor night vision imaging system (NVIS) lighting airworthiness... Read more
7-Sep-2011Source: Bristow Academy
Bristow Academy Inc., a division of Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:BRS), today announced it will offer a new course for helicopter pilots on wildland fire operations and suppression. Taught by qualified wildland fire instructors, the class is scheduled to begin October 3, 2011. Entitled “Wildland Fire Orientation for Rotary Wing Pilots,†the six-day course will give... Read more
30-Aug-2011Source: SEI Industries
SEI Industries Ltd. announces the retirement of a dedicated and long-term sales distributor in Australia. Kevin Gosling of Gosling & Associates was SEI’s exclusive sales representative in Australia for more than 20 years. GAAM Emergency Products is the new Australian distributor for SEI’s aerial firefighting Bambi Bucket including the prescribed burning and controlled burn Fire... Read more
22-Jul-2011Source: KOB
During the last four weeks, two National Guard Black Hawks have sat at Santa Fe Airport, with full firefighting equipment while the largest fire in New Mexico burns close by. The Las Conchas fire has burned over 240 square miles (full story)... Read more
29-Jun-2011Source: Simplex
The Federal Aviation Administration has granted STC# SR02351LA to Simplex Manufacturing for a fire attack system for the Agusta Westland AW139. The Model 326 tank is a 1st generation fire fighting water tank for the AW 139. This STC is the newest Simplex product in addition to a collection of over 150 US and foreign... Read more
23-Jun-2011Source: AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that PZL-Swidnik has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with INAER of Spain to expand both companies’ businesses in the fire fighting market over the next ten years, in particular in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. The MoU is focused on the specialised W-3A Sokol medium twin... Read more
17-Jun-2011Source: SEI Industries
SEI Industries Ltd., manufacturer of the Bambi Bucket®, is pleased to welcome Michel Landry to its sales team as an outside technical sales representative for Bambi Bucket and Dragon Fire Ignition products. Michel will be transitioning with Aaron Tweedy over the next few months to become the main Canadian representative while Aaron concentrates on Bambi... Read more
14-Jun-2011Source: HeliHub.com
With helicopters widely used in Spain for firefighting, the autonomous community Aragon is the first to use unmanned helicopters to help fight fires. Consisting of three provinces – Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel – Aragon is located in north eastern Spain and borders France to the north. Using two UAVs from local company INDA, Aragon has... Read more
13-Jun-2011Source: Aviation Specialties Unlimited
Aviation Specialties Unlimited, (ASU) announced today that they received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the Bell 205A-1 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The new STC was completed for the San Diego Sherriff’s Department. This aircraft will be used for aerial firefighting, search and rescue, airborne law enforcement and hoist equipment. “This is the... Read more
9-Jun-2011Source: SEI Industries
SEI Industries Ltd. is proud to have participated in the recent 5th International Wildland Fire Conference (Wildfire 2011) held in South Africa, May 9 -13, 2011. The conference followed key aspects of integrated fire management including fire management and poverty alleviation in developing countries, fire management and carbon sequestration innovations, institutionalizing applications of the incident... Read more
7-Jun-2011Source: HeliHub.com
Avon Fire & Rescue, the emergency authority based around Bristol in South West UK, is today having a demonstration of a Eurocopter EC145. It arrived at Bristol’s Filton Airprt yesterday using the callsign “Redfox 01”, and is a German registered example D-HTCL. Back in December 2009, fire chief Kevin Pearson put in a request to... Read more
26-May-2011Source: Aviation Specialties Unlimited
Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) plans to offer NVG firefighting training to meet the growing demands of operators around the world. “There have been many devastating fires in North America and throughout the world already this year,†said ASU founder and President Mike Atwood.“Operators around the world are fighting fires at night and it is critical... Read more
9-May-2011Source: SkyTrac Systems
SkyTrac Systems will be attending the 5th International Wildland Fire Conference in South Africa May 9-13, 2011. This event will focus on addressing global change through integrated fire management under the auspices of the United Nations’ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.  SkyTrac representatives Kim Bagnall and Steve... Read more
4-May-2011Source: Bangor Daily News
Profile of Maine Forest Service, covering a fire drill observed by the news media which involved a Bell 407... Read more
1-May-2011Source: US Forest Service
The La Grande Airtanker Base is closed due to significant damage to various taxi routes including the apron. The Airtanker Base shall remain closed to all airtanker operations until repairs are completed. Forest and Regional Fire and Aviation staff consulted with the National Aviation staff prior to closing the Airtanker Base. A portion of the... Read more
12-Apr-2011Source: Donaldson
Donaldson Aerospace & Defense, a division of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI), is helping the Air Operations Section of the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) meet the Department’s creed, “serving with courage, integrity and pride.†Donaldson has provided Inlet Barrier Filters (IBFs) for the Section’s newest in-service rotorcraft, two AgustaWestland 139 twin-engine medium helicopters.... Read more
31-Mar-2011Source: Discovery Air
Discovery Air Inc. subsidiary Great Slave Helicopters Ltd. is pleased to announce its majority aboriginal-owned partnership Denendeh Helicopters Ltd. has been awarded a five-year contract to provide firefighting support and suppression services out of Hay River, NT. Denendeh Helicopters brings together the investment arms of K’atlodeeche First Nation, of the Hay River Reserve, and the... Read more
31-Mar-2011Source: Discovery Air
Discovery Air Inc. subsidiary Great Slave Helicopters Ltd., working in partnership with 100% aboriginal-owned Dehcho Regional Helicopters LP, has been awarded a five-year contract to provide firefighting support and suppression services out of Fort Simpson, NT. Dehcho Regional Helicopters brings together the the business arms of the Fort Simpson Metis Nation; Liidlii Kue First Nation;... Read more
24-Mar-2011
Pilot lost control over a forest fire. Helicopter crashed killing pilot Hector Metuaze de la Fuente, Passenger seriously injured. Post crash fire and burnt out... Read more
22-Mar-2011Source: WSLS Channel 10
The new standards apply only to call-when-needed contracts, and they apply only to the Type III, smaller type of helicopters used for dropping between 100 and 300 gallons of retardant and transporting up to eight firefighters. These aircraft will now be required to be equipped with wire-cutting kits... Read more
17-Mar-2011Source: Absolute Fire Solutions
Absolute Fire Solutions (AFS) and Kawak Aviation Technologies (Kawak) announced today the co-development of a new bucket mounted powered fill solution for heavy helicopter operators. The new product, called FAST Fill Hydraulic, provides operators with a high-volume, ultra-lightweight powered fill option weighing only 32 pounds, and uses the proven Kawak auxiliary hydraulic technology to provide... Read more
14-Mar-2011Source: Washington State DNR
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is making improvements to its wildland firefighting helicopter program that are estimated to save taxpayers at least $300,000 annually, following the recommendations of a recently completed legislative audit. DNR will retire four AH-1 “Cobra†helicopters from duty and has secured federal funding to replace them with two... Read more
10-Mar-2011Source: Russian Helicopters
The Russian all-weather coaxial Ka-32A11BC helicopter equipped with a horizontal firefighting system is an efficient tool in combating fires on top floors of high rise buildings and skyscrapers, including the densely populated regions of the world’s largest cities. The helicopter can be used in fighting fires that ground apparatus cannot reach or has difficulty in... Read more
6-Mar-2011Source: AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and United Industries International are pleased to announce that the Public Procurement Authority of the Republic of Korea have selected the AW139 for the Incheon Fire Fighting Department. The helicopter will perform fire fighting, emergency medical service, air rescue and transport missions and is scheduled to go into service in 2012.... Read more
3-Mar-2011Source: SEI Industries
SEI Industries Ltd. is pleased to announce that it will be exhibiting the complete Bambi Bucket product line at the coming Heli-Expo March 6-8, 2011 at Booth #1218. SEI has been a member of HAI since 1982 and is proud to be an annual exhibitor at Heli-Expo. SEI will be displaying the complete line of... Read more
2-Mar-2011Source: HeliHub.com
CONAF, the Chilean Forestry Department, took delivery of its first PZL Sokol helicopter back last Autumn, as reported here on HeliHub.com – but has been grounded since then due to lack of qualified pilots. The organisation has suffered a significant amount of local criticism due to bad planning of the whole operation. Aviation director Manuel... Read more
18-Feb-2011Source: Superior Helicopters
Superior Helicopters Canada Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Discovery Air Inc.’s Great Slave Helicopters Ltd., has been awarded a new two-year contract with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). The contract with the OMNR is for three Bell medium helicopters for aviation, forest fire and emergency services in Northern Ontario, with the three contracted... Read more
17-Feb-2011Source: HeliHub.com
On last January 16, 2011, EMA (Empresa de Aerial Media, Ltd) marked 5,000 hours with their Ka32 fleet – Kamov 32A11BC, registration CS-HMM, was the actual helicopter which flew the milestone , under the command of pilot José Mendes, co-pilot Joana Santos and winch operator Bruno Martins. This achievement comes after only three years of... Read more
27-Jan-2011Source: HeliHub.com
In a recent ceremony, the Russian Ambassador in Quito, Yan Burliay, handed over two Mi-171E transport helicopters to the Ecuadorian Army. This follows a contract between the Ministry of Defense of Ecuador and Rosoboronexport, reported as the first such contract in the history of Russian-Ecuadorian relations. The value of the deal was around $22 million.... Read more
17-Jan-2011Source: CRI
Shanghai is to buy a firefighting helicopter in a bid to ensure there’s no repetition of the inferno that engulfed a 28-floor building and claimed 58 lives last November.... Read more
11-Jan-2011Source: AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace are pleased to announce that Saitama Prefecture of Japan has placed an order for an AW139 medium twin helicopter. This aircraft will be operated by the Fire Fighting and Disaster Relief Department to perform fire fighting, emergency medical service, air rescue and transport missions. The helicopter will... Read more
10-Jan-2011Source: Taranaki Daily News
It has highlighted an administrative issue, with one South Taranaki District councillor questioning the logic of contracting a helicopter company which was 45 minutes away.... Read more
20-Dec-2010Source: HeliHub.com
On Friday 17th December, the Fire Department in Brazil’s state of Goias took delivery of the first of three AgustaWestland AW119Ke helicopters bought by the state. Lieutenant Colonel Múcio Santos Ferreira of the Fire Department said that the cost 7 million Brazilian Reals – approximatly US$4 million. The aircraft has the capacity to be used... Read more
13-Dec-2010Source: SEI Industries
Delta, Canada – SEI Industries Ltd. is proud to announce the delivery of the very first Bambi Torrentula® Bucket to the Brazilian Navy. The new BBT4453 (530USG/2000L) Bambi Bucket® will be operated with the Navy’s recently purchased Eurocopter Super Puma helicopter fleet for wildfire suppression in Brazil. Since 1999, the Bambi Torrentula product has been... Read more
12-Dec-2010Source: Carson Helicopters
Carson Helicopters has been an active participant in the NTSB investigation of the Weaverville crash of N612AZ and as such has not commented publicly during the investigation due to regulatory prohibitions. We have a strong commitment to all the people affected by this tragic accident and to current flight operators of the S61 helicopter to... Read more
11-Dec-2010Source: Mercury News
William “Bill” Coultas of Cave Junction says the NTSB ignored his written and oral testimony that loss of power in an engine caused the crash of the S61... Read more
10-Dec-2010Source: NTSB
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Public Meeting of December 7, 2010 (Information subject to editing) Aircraft Accident Report Crash During Takeoff of Carson Helicopters, Inc., Firefighting Helicopter Under Contract to the U.S. Forest Service, Sikorsky S-61N, N612AZ Near Weaverville, California August 5, 2008 NTSB/AAR-10/06 Stay Connected Receive Press releases by e-mail Subscribe to our RSS feeds This is... Read more
8-Dec-2010Source: KDRV
The NTSB stated that Carson Helicopters deliberately withheld information on the aircraft’s safety specifications. Those actions “included the intentional alteration of weight documents and performance charts and the use of unapproved performance calculations”... Read more
6-Dec-2010
The issue of a lack of standardised procedures was highlighted in the investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau of a midair collision between a AS350B and a BK117... Read more
5-Dec-2010Source: Dutch MoD
[Electronic translation of Dutch press release] Netherlands sends a Chinook transport helicopters and three Courgar to Israel to fight a major forest fire near the city of Haifa. That the ministers decided today Rosenthal and Hillen. The fire raging since yesterday, by drought and high winds are difficult to extinguish. It is the largest fire... Read more
5-Dec-2010
Germany has committed two helicopters to help Israeli fight their worst ever forest fire... Read more
3-Dec-2010Source: NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting on Tuesday, December 7, at 9:30 a.m., in its Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. There is one item on the agenda. The Board will consider a final report on the following accident: On August 5, 2008, a Sikorsky... Read more
29-Nov-2010Source: BBC
Fire chiefs have said it would be quicker and more efficient to fly in specialist teams to road crashes. But the Fire Brigades Union said the plan was “a folly” with some firefighters facing redundancy.... Read more
29-Nov-2010Source: Clic RBS
500 calls, 334 flight hours and 414 victims assisted. These are the numbers of Battalion Operations Firefighters of Santa Catarina using a helicopter Archangel, from January to November this year.... Read more
26-Nov-2010Source: Cootamundra Herald
Cootamundra will be home to one of the biggest firefighting helicopters in regional NSW this summer, with the arrival of a Bell 212 aircraft to be operated by Canadian operator Valhalla Helicopters.... Read more
24-Nov-2010Source: AVE
China is also interested in the Kamov Ka32A11BC and is in talks on possible supply of a large batch of these machines for use in rescue missions and for fire fighting.... Read more
22-Nov-2010Source: HeliHub.com
AgustaWestland Brazil have released a photo of the first firefighting AW119 for the State Government of Goias, which they have bought in partnership with the National Secretariat of Public Security. When delivered it will be configurable for a number of tasks, including two litter patients in an EMS role. The helicopter commenced test flights at... Read more
22-Nov-2010Source: Simplex
Simplex Manufacturing and Eurocopter have completed a demonstration of Simplex’s newest High Rise Firefighting system for the Eurocopter EC225 in Hong Kong as part of the China Air Show. Simplex developed the system for the EC225 after a successful development and deployment of a high rise fire fighting system on an AVIC H-425 in China... Read more
16-Nov-2010Source: Russian Helicopters
Zhuhai, Kitay/ 15 November 2010 – Russian multipurpose heavy transport helicopter Mi-26TC production Rostvertol entering the Russian helicopter holding Russian Helicopters, was officially delivered to the customer and arrived in China shortly before the opening tomorrow at Zhuhai International Exhibition Airshow China 2010. The contract to supply heavy Mi-26TC in the People’s Republic was signed... Read more
10-Nov-2010Source: SEI Industries
SEI recently attended Helitech 2010 in Cascais, Portugal for the second consecutive time since this worthwhile conference and tradeshow event started in 2008. The Helitech (Portugal) event is very unique in that it offers participants a chance to observe a live aerial firefighting demonstration on an active fire set on piles of brush laid out... Read more
9-Nov-2010Source: HAI
Join helicopter firefighting operators under contract to the U.S. Forest Service or Department of the Interior and attend HAI’s 3rd Annual Fall Government Contracting Committee meeting and Firefighting Safety Forum in Boise, Idaho, November 17th and 18th – sponsorship opportunities are available! Attendees will have the opportunity to sit in on the Government Contracting Committee’s... Read more
3-Nov-2010Source: AgustaWestland
[Note – HeliHub.com first ran this story from Brazilian sources on 24th September. We are now publishing AgustaWestland’s press release dated 2nd November] AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica Company, is pleased to announce that the State of Goiás, in central Brazil, has ordered three AW119Ke single engine helicopters for law enforcement, fire-fighting and transport missions. The contract... Read more
25-Oct-2010Source: US Forest Service
Regional Forester Randy Moore is proud to welcome Jeanne Wade Evans, who will serve as Deputy Regional Forester for the National Forests in California. Jeanne Wade Evans, Supervisor on the San Bernardino National Forest since October of 2005, will move to the regional level to oversee Fire and Aviation Management as well as State and... Read more
21-Oct-2010
[Electronic translation of local language press release] The Government of the State of Goiás, in partnership with the National Secretariat of Public Security (SENASP), just bought a new car that will strengthen the operational power of the Fire Brigade of the State of Goiás (CBMGO). Single-impeller A helicopter of the Italian manufacturer Agusta Westland, Koala... Read more
20-Oct-2010Source: Aragon Liberal
The Environment Department has invested 625,500 Euros in the works to expand the base Boltaña helicopter transport, so as to improve staffing and infrastructure of the base, working 9 months per year... Read more
19-Oct-2010Source: Take-Off
Upon arrival in China, and after making the required documents that the Mi-26TC will be sent for duty in one of China’s provinces to extinguish forest fires.... Read more
17-Oct-2010Source: AVE
The Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan (MOE) will buy in 2011 for fighting fires in tall buildings of Astana and Almaty, Ka-32 helicopters.... Read more
12-Oct-2010Source: USA Today
Federal investigators probing a helicopter crash that killed seven firefighters during a California blaze have uncovered widespread violations and falsified records... Read more
5-Oct-2010Source: Aviaport
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http://www.aviaport.ru/digest/2010/10/05/203327.html... Read more
5-Oct-2010Source: Latitude Technologies
Latitude Technologies Corporation of Victoria, B.C. along with Northern Ontario Air Operator, Hicks & Lawrence Limited, were recognized for their support to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) during the 2009 to 2010 fire season. The MNR team led by Aerial Officer, Colin McFayden, was able to create and send detailed fire reports during... Read more
16-Sep-2010Source: Orange County Register
Then word got around that although the fire fighting agency had cleared its pilots to fly at night last month – more than two years after investing in NVG – and the helicopters are only staffed until 8 p.m. during the week.... Read more
13-Sep-2010Source: Mail Tribune
After spending Au$10.5 million on a 10-week trial of the DC-10, the Australians decided to take a different tack, apparently seeking a third Erickson helicopter.... Read more
7-Sep-2010
“Two Russian helicopters with a Ka-32 and Mi-26 arrived at the airport in Nis, they have not yet done so flights, but are ready to intervene at any moment,” said the speaker of agency.... Read more
30-Aug-2010Source: Rainier Heli-International
Rainier Heli-International, based in Kirkland, Wash., recently helped to contain a major wildfire in California’s Sequoia National Forest with a company-owned and operated Kaman K-MAX® cargo helicopter. The blaze, named the Bull Fire after it began on July 26, consumed nearly 16,500 acres of national forest lands by the Kern River northeast of Bakersfield. The... Read more
20-Aug-2010Source: FM Bolivia
Given the recent forest fires in several departments of the country as Cochabamba, Beni and Santa Cruz, the government is considering buying helicopters or planes in order to meet such emergencies and avoid environmental damage.... Read more
20-Aug-2010Source: SDG&E
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) today was joined by local firefighting agencies and city and county officials to announce two new cooperative agreements that will make the company’s new Erickson Air Crane helicopter available to San Diego County fire agencies to assist in fighting large wildfires throughout the county. The S64F helitanker, dubbed “Sun... Read more
29-Jul-2010Source: MD Helicopters
Mesa, Arizona, July 28, 2010… On June 29, MD Helicopters delivered a brand new MD 500E to the Hawaii County Fire Department. The Department covers 4000 square miles and operates approximately 300 missions a year, with half fire and half rescue. The unit flies 1000 hours a year. The new MD 500E will replace an... Read more
22-Jul-2010Source: Absolute Fire Solutions
Absolute Fire Solutions, (AFS) announced today that the innovative actuator and control technology that allows cockpit volume control and multi-drop capabilities with no weight penalty, which was previously patented in Australia, has now received patents in both Canada and the United States. The proprietary control system design distinguishes FAST Bucket from older technology bucket products because... Read more
22-Jul-2010Source: Max-Viz
Max-Viz and One Sky Aviation completed a successful series of tests on the performance of the Max-Viz EVS-1500 dual optical field of view sensor on wildfires in central Alaska. “This important testing was necessary to confirm performance expectations of the EVS-1500 sensor over its predecessor, the EVS-1000, specifically in a fire environment†states Bob Yerex,... Read more
19-Jul-2010Source: 9MSN
South Australia’s firefighting efforts will be boosted by an Erickson Air Crane this fire danger season.... Read more
6-Jul-2010Source: AVN
... Read more
30-Jun-2010Source: US Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) has released an information bulletin regarding latitude/longitude coordinates – focusing on potential confusion between latlong coordinates in degrees and minutes when the aircraft GPS is configured to use degrees and tenths. Please click here to read their Information Bulletin FS 10-02... Read more
22-Jun-2010Source: 10 News
SDG&E and the county will both spend up to $150,000 for firefighting use of the S64e Helitanker, which the utility is expected to lease in time for the fall fire season.... Read more
