Columbia Helicopters is pleased to announce the promotion of Steve Bandy to Senior Vice President of Operations. He has been serving as the Vice President of Operations since 2012.

In addition to his current responsibilities of the Flight and Operations Departments, Bandy will assume leadership over the Maintenance Department and the Quality, Engineering and Supply Chain Department.

“I am extremely happy for Steve in his new role,” said Columbia Helicopters’ president and CEO, Jim Rankin. “This reporting structure aligns all of our operating departments into one cohesive group, allowing for effective coordination and quicker decision making.”

Bandy has worked for Columbia since 1989, when he came to the work for the company as a copilot. Since then, he has held the positions of Command Pilot, Assistant Chief Pilot, Chief Pilot, Director of Flight Operations and Vice President of Operations. His recent leadership has helped Columbia expand its business into Government Services work in Afghanistan, while also supporting high level employee performance and outstanding service to our customers.

“Steve’s creative mind, strong working knowledge of our business, and his commitment to the entire team will help Columbia remain the strongest heavy-lift helicopter company in the world,” added Rankin.

Columbia Helicopters owns, operates and maintains the largest, privately held fleet of heavy-lift helicopters in the world. The company operates the Columbia Model 234 Chinook, the Columbia Vertol 107-II and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Columbia operates these aircraft globally, working in logging, construction, fire fighting, military and government support, and petroleum exploration support operations. The company also has an extensive external aircraft maintenance facility, working on commercial and military helicopters and their components.