Mesa, Arizona, October 8, 2010 … MD Helicopters, Inc (MDHI) and the Humberside Police Authority have announced that an MD Explorer has just been returned to service after its 10,000 hour inspection conducted by Police Aviation Services Ltd (PAS) in Gloucestershire UK.

The helicopter is one of the busiest MD 902 Explorers in service and is now the second, of the MD Explorer fleet to have achieved the 10,000 hour milestone. The helicopter, which has received several upgrades, was originally equipped and delivered in 2001.

Commenting on the high availability of the helicopter, Sara Whiting, Deputy Unit Executive Officer at Humberside Police’s Air Operations Section, stated that she is extremely happy with the Explorer. “It is the perfect helicopter for its role” and is “extremely reliable. It is popular with all of the pilots and crew and flies over 1200 hours per year. In the last month it flew 131 hours in response to 425 tasks, which resulted in the location of 58 offenders, 4 stolen vehicles and 17 missing persons.”

Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada 207E engines with 720 shaft horsepower per engine, the MD Explorer has the highest payload in the light-twin class. With a maximum gross weight of 6,500 pounds (2948 kg), it boasts exceptional power for take-off and landing on elevated platforms. The Category A rating allows for continuity of takeoff with safe return to the takeoff point in the event of a failure of one of its engines.
The NOTAR system makes the MD Explorer the quietest and safest helicopter in its class. The MD Explorer is certified by the FAA, China’s CAAC, Russia’s MAK and Europe’s EASA for Category A and single pilot instrument flight rule (IFR) operations.

About MD Helicopters, Inc.
MD Helicopters, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of commercial and military helicopters. The MDHI family of rotorcraft is world renowned for its value, versatility and performance. The MD Helicopters family includes the twin-engine MD Explorer®, and single engine versions of the MD 600N®, MD 520N®, MD 500E® and MD 530F®. The NOTAR® system for anti-torque control is used exclusively by MD Helicopters. The Company is based in Mesa, Ariz. For more information about MDHI visit http://www.mdhelicopters.com .

About Patriarch Partners LLC
The Patriarch platform is a vertically integrated private equity firm with robust in-house operational turnaround expertise. Patriarch Partners, founded in 2000, was built upon a proprietary patented financial model designed to manage and monetize the distressed portfolios of financial institutions. Patriarch has since evolved into a global investment firm that concentrates on direct investments in distressed businesses with a focus to rebuild them, managing funds with over $7 billion of equity and secured loan assets with equity investments in more than 70 companies, and controlling interests in approximately two-thirds of these. For more information, please visit http://www.patriarchpartners.com.