RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico, announced the appointment of Curtis Hudson as Director of Maintenance (DOM) of RLC. Hudson has been a vital team member at RLC for the past 18 years where he served in a variety of roles including his most recent position as Chief Inspector. His… Read more »
Donaldson Aerospace & Defense, a division of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI) today announced that Saudi Aramco has ordered and will install the Donaldson Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF) system on its AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter fleet. The IBF will provide engine damage prevention for this major helicopter operator facing some of the most extreme operating conditions… Read more »
On 29 February 2012, the first example of Thales’s new Reality H Dauphin N3/N3+ helicopter simulator was granted FTD Level 3 and FFS Level B qualification by the French civil aviation authority (DGAC). The Reality H simulator is based on the new generation of Thales products, designed to maximise training capacity and availability while offering… Read more »
Gulf Helicopters Company today announced that earlier this month the Gulf Helicopters Training Academy (GHTA) has received Initial European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 147 Maintenance Training Organization Approval. GHTA is now a fully approved Part 147 Maintenance Training Organization to conduct courses on the AB139 / AW139 (PWC PT6). Additional training capabilities are presently… Read more »
Era Training Center (ETC) is pleased to announce that Randy Rowles has been named VP/General Manager. Mr. Rowles brings a wealth of experience, most recently employed with Night Flight Concepts as VP of Business Development & NVG Training Programs. Through his previous employment at Bell Helicopter, he held the position of Senior Flight Instructor Specialist,… Read more »
Bristow Group Inc.(NYSE: BRS), the leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, today announced that the Company will be attending the Howard Weil 40th Annual Energy Conference to be held in New Orleans on March 25 – 29, 2012. William E. Chiles, President and Chief Executive Officer, andJonathan Baliff, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer are… Read more »
The world’s leading helicopter-services operator has selected an executive of one of the energy industry’s largest product and service providers to join the aviation company’s board of directors. CHC Helicopter said that Dr. Jonathan Lewis, senior vice president of Halliburton’s Europe Sub-Saharan Africa Region, formally begins his duties with the CHC board at the group’s… Read more »
Shell companies in Nigeria have supported an indigenous company, Caverton Helicopters, to upgrade its fleet with more advanced aircraft, the AW 139. By providing a loan of $85 million, Shell Nigeria empowered Caverton to place orders for six AW 139s, making it the largest operator of the aircraft in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two aircraft would be… Read more »
The latest full-flight simulator in Eurocopter’s growing global training network has marked two key achievements as the Aberdeen, Scotland-based EC225 device accumulates more than 2,000 flight hours and passes the government-mandated recurrent evaluation that enables its use into 2013. This full-flight simulator – located at Eurocopter’s North Sea Service Center – provides high-fidelity training opportunities… Read more »
PHI, Inc. (“PHI”) (the nasdaq global market:PHII (voting) PHIIK (non-voting)) today reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011. Oil and Gas operating revenues increased $10.0 million, related primarily to increased heavy aircraft flight hours and revenues. This increase was offset in part by a decrease in revenues for light and medium aircraft…. Read more »
Michael J McCann, the Chief Financial Officer of PHi, has advised the company that “he intends to retire in 2012 from all positions with the Company and its subsidiaries, including as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Company, upon the Company’s retention of his replacement in 2012.” to use the wording of the SEC… Read more »
Bond Offshore Helicopters have now registered their third AgustaWestland AW139 with the UK Civil Aviation Authority. G-PERD will join the first pair G-PERA and G-PERB which were acquired in March and May of 2011. The alphabetic sequence was broken due to G-PERC being currently allocated to a Cameron hot air balloon, and the UK CAA… Read more »
On Saturday morning, a brand new AW139 landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport – presumably on a delivery flight from the factory in Italy. We understand it was en route to be based at Den Helder for Southern North Sea work. Registered PH-EUG and in full CHC colours, the helicopter is serial number 31407, the most… Read more »
Abu Dhabi based Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) continues to lead the way in offshore oilfield support in the United Arab Emirates by embracing innovative, safety focused improvements for their Bell 412EP Fleet. Following the recent decision to upgrade their entire fleet with the BLR FastFin System, FAS have taken delivery of a fully customized DAS… Read more »
RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico, today announced the retirement of President, Rodger Bagwell. Dru Milke, who joined the company in September 2011 as CEO, will assume the role of President and CEO. During Bagwell’s tenure, RLC grew from a small Part 135 operator focused primarily on the refurbishment and… Read more »
Jeremy Akel has been named Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Bristow Group Inc., one of the world’s largest providers of helicopter services. In this role, he will be responsible for leading the company’s operations and maintaining excellence in safety and service. Akel joined the Bristow management team in 2004 initially in business development… Read more »
Rockwell Collins, the first avionics company to certify Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II) on long-range helicopters, recently received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification of its TCAS II on the Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma Mk II+. This is the first-ever forward fit TCAS II application on a helicopter. This certification follows the pioneering achievement… Read more »
The Nigerian CAA have rejected a recent application from helicopter operators to commence night flying in the West African cuontry. Director-General, Dr Harold Demuren, confirmed the situation during a meeting with major oil companies and helicopter operators in his office in Lagos – including representatives from the Directorate of Petroleum Regulations, Total, Chevron Oil, ConOil,… Read more »
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has already committed to spend $400,000 on a memorial to mark the crash, which killed 15 workers heading to their jobs at offshore oil platforms and the two Cougar Helicopters pilots who were transporting them. (see full story)
The Southern Vietnam Helicopter Corporation of Vietnam (VNH South) signed a contract today with Eurocopter South East Asia for its fourth EC225 heavy helicopter. This acquisition follows closely on its last purchase of the same aircraft type six months ago, as it continues to expand its fleet for offshore oil and gas operations. On the… Read more »
From Eurocopter booth #1917 at the 2012 Heli-Expo, Era Helicopters and American Eurocopter announced Era’s acquisition of seven EC135® helicopters. With this purchase, Era’s fleet will include 17 EC135s. “Era and American Eurocopter are committed to aviation excellence by incorporating the latest technology aircraft and training in order to provide the highest levels of safety… Read more »
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Bond Aviation Group, are pleased to announce that they have signed a Framework Agreement for 15 helicopters comprising ten firm orders and five options. The Framework Agreement, which includes AW169, AW139 and AW189 aircraft, was signed by James Drummond, Chief Executive Officer, Inaer Group, and Emilio Dalmasso, Senior VP Commercial… Read more »
Sikorsky Aircraft today announced that Bond Aviation Group, the British helicopter operator and subsidiary company of the World Helicopters Group, has signed a contract to buy 16 S-92® helicopters. The purchase is the largest one-time acquisition of S-92 aircraft ever received by Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. “We are deeply honored by… Read more »
Eurocopter has expanded its EC175 order book with Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen’s 10-aircraft acquisition of this new seven metric ton-category helicopter. Deliveries of the EC175s will begin next year for Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) and are to continue through 2015, with the rotary-wing aircraft equipped for missions that include transportation flights for the oil and gas… Read more »
Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. UTX -0.64% , today announced at Heli-Expo that Brazilian helicopter operator Lider Aviacao has signed a contract to buy three Sikorsky S-92® helicopters. Lider will operate the aircraft predominantly to serve the growing Petrobras demand for large rotorcraft capable of transporting workers to offshore oil and gas platforms. The three… Read more »
Milestone Aviation Group and Eurocopter today announced an order for 16 EC225 aircraft. These aircraft are valued at €362 million (US $480 million) and will be delivered over five years, starting in 2013. Eurocopter’s embrace of a partnership with Milestone on the EC225 is a major development for the helicopter industry. Since launching in August… Read more »
Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has become the world’s first offshore oil operator to enhance the safety and productivity of its helicopters with the BLR Aerospace FastFin® Tail Rotor Enhancement and Stability System. FAS last year began flying the first new factory-produced Bell 412EP equipped with the FastFin System. Successful… Read more »
The race to develop a practical and affordable ADS-B solution that will be attractive to general aviation pilots is being led by transponder experts Trig Avionics. Trig recently took another major step in this process by becoming the first company in the world to be awarded FAA TSO C166b certification for their TT31 and TT22… Read more »
Cobham Beacon Solutions announced they have received 24 Technical Standard Order (TSO) authorizations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Artex Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) product line. The FAA has allowed transition of the previous approval from Cobham Avionics in Prescott, AZ to ACR Electronics in Fort Lauderdale FL under the new Part 21… Read more »
Bristow Group, the leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, today announced that it will be presenting at the 2012 Credit Suisse Energy Summit to be held in Vail, Colorado on February 6 – 10, 2012. Management is scheduled to present on Wednesday, February 8, at 9:25 a.m. Mountain Time (11:25 a.m…. Read more »
UTair is negotiating with a company in Brazil to create a joint venture for providing helicopter services to offshore oil platforms, reports RAI Novosti. Andrey Martirosov, CEO of UTair, is reported as saying that they expect to make a more formal announcement later this year, and they would like to use Eurocopter EC175s on this… Read more »
Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: BRS) today reported net income for theDecember 2011 quarter of $25.5 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, compared to net income of $41.8 million, or$1.13 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.  Adjusted net income, which excludes special items and asset disposition effects, was $27.8 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, for the December 2011 quarter, an increase from$26.3 million,… Read more »
A memorial for seven men who died in a helicopter crash in Morecambe Bay more than five years ago has been unveiled. Five gas rig workers and two pilots were killed when the Eurocopter SA365N went down 25 miles off the coast after leaving Blackpool Airport. (see full story)
The popular Helicopter Safety Awareness Courses for Safety Representatives are to continue in 2012. Step Change’s Helicopter Safety Steering Group has given its support to continue these well received courses, which are open to offshore safety representatives and other personnel who would like to find out more about offshore flight operations and safety. The full-day events are run by… Read more »
A scheduled helicopter en route from the Deepsea Bergen drilling rig to Kristiansund made a controlled emergency landing on Ã…sgard B at 16.45 on Thursday afternoon. The incident happened when the helicopter alarm system alerted the pilots of loss of pressure in the left hydraulic system. After the landing, the helicopter came into motion due… Read more »
Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: BRS), the leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, announced today it will release financial results for its fiscal year 2012 third quarter ended December 31, 2011, after the market closes on Thursday, February 2. In conjunction with the release, Bristow has scheduled a conference call, which will be… Read more »
Everett Aviation has added a Eurocopter EC155B1 in support of the Offshore Oil and Gas industry in Tanzania. The company’s website is still advertising for Captains and Co-Pilots The particular aircraft – serial 6662 and registration 5H-EXO – has been bought from Blueway who have operated it for the last four years. It was originally… Read more »
The next-generation Eurocopter EC175 will incorporate significantly increased range and payload capacity when it enters service at the end of this year, and will be the first seven metric ton-category helicopter delivered with such capabilities. In releasing EC175 enhanced performance specifications today, Eurocopter announced a baseline payload/radius-of-action capacity with 16 passengers at 135 nautical miles… Read more »
Bristow Helicopters Ltd has reported a boost in registrations for its training programs following its high profile presence at Europe’s largest helicopter exhibition, Helitech 2011. Since the event, which took place in the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, UK, on 27-29 September, Bristow has experienced a rise in enquiries for its training programmes held both… Read more »
Civil Aviation Administration of China has certified the 13-tonne AC313 earlier today. The AC313 was developed by government-owned manufacturer AVIC from the Harbin Z-8, itself relying very heavily on the 1960s French design – the SA321 Super Frelon. AVIC expect to market the AC313 for emergency rescue operations, forest fire prevention, transport, offshore operations, medical… Read more »
CHC has registered a new Eurocopter EC225 with the British CAA yesterday, serial number 2822 and registration G-JSKN. CAA records also show that an Export CofA has already been applied for with an expected processing date of 24th January, so it will not stay long before moving to another CHC base. This is not unusual. … Read more »
Yesterday, Bond Offshore Helicopters registered a new Eurocopter EC225LP helicopter with the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Going by other similar activity in recent years, this likely means the delivery flight from the factory in Marignane started yesterday or is expected to today. Registered G-PUMR and with Eurocopter serial 2818, this example takes the current Bond… Read more »
Caverton Helicopters of Nigeria has recently taken delivery of three (3) medium twin Agusta Westland helicopters to be used for offshore transport duties in support of the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria. The helicopters are to be ferried from the Agusta factory in Vergiate, Italy to Nigeria and expected to commence commercial operations in… Read more »
Members would be aware that negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) for Engineers at Bristow Helicopters have recently commenced. The first EA meeting was held at the Bristow HQ in Perth on 22nd November and at this meeting the ALAEA and EC bargaining reps presented to the Company our bargaining claim. A further EA… Read more »
CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co., Ltd. (COHC) has ordered seven EC225 LP long-range helicopters in a new agreement with Eurocopter that also paves the way for future joint ventures involving the two companies in training and maintenance services to serve China’s rapidly-developing rotary-wing market. The EC225 LP Super Pumas acquired in this latest order will be… Read more »
Having recently transferred an older AW139 from Netherlands to Kazakstan, the operator has replaced it with a new AW139 from the factory in Italy. Registered PH-EUE, serial number 31387 should now be at their Den Helder base and will soon be ready for North Sea operations. Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com
India’s aviation safety regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has grounded two Pawan Hans pilots pending an inquiry into an alleged safety lapse. The pilots were ferrying three oil workers on 10th December and made an unscheduled landing after realising when already airborne that a door of the helicopter was not securely shut. Having… Read more »
CHC has processed a registration transfer to allow it to operate an AW139 in Kazakhstan. Operating until recently from North Denes in the UK, G-CHCV was noted in early November being worked on in Stavangar, Norway – perhaps in preparation for its new role. C-CHCV is serial 41005, a 2007 manufactured aircraft which had 3,007… Read more »
A federal magistrate has refused to order Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. to pay damages to another company for allegedly hiding an internal report about a fatal accident in January 2009 (see full story) See also HeliHub.com page for this accident – 04-Jan-09 N748P Sikorsky S76C++ Gulf of Mexico, US-Gulf of Mexico (8F)
Appareo Systems is pleased to announce that it has undertaken a significant software development project with CHC Helicopter, providing the world’s largest helicopter services company with an innovative and robust electronic flight bag (EFB) application. The CHC EFB software will run on the Apple iPad, continuing CHC’s commitment to leveraging advanced technology to achieve a… Read more »
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the first two AW139 OGP Safety Advisors Training Programmes for the oil & gas safety advisors community in September and November 2011 have been hailed a success by those attending. This initiative, launched early this year, complements the oil & gas seminars that have been organised… Read more »
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that Bel Air of Denmark has signed a contract for two AW189 helicopters. The aircraft will be used for offshore oil and gas transport missions in the North Sea. Bel Air is the latest offshore oil and gas operator to select the new AW189 helicopter to meet… Read more »
Eurocopter Malaysia keeps up its 100% market share in the heavy helicopter category for offshore operations in Malaysia with two EC225 helicopter orders confirmed at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition 2011 (LIMA), in addition to eight others operating in the country. As an affirmation of its leading position in the provision of heavy… Read more »
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that DanCopter, a Blueway AS company, has taken delivery of the first of five AW139 medium twin helicopters. This aircraft will be used for offshore transport operations in Nigeria. An initial order for three AW139s was placed in 2010 which was followed by contracts for two additional… Read more »
Late on Wednesday this week, a Sikorsky S92 from Cougar Helicopters completed its ferry flight from Newfoundland to Aberdeen in the UK. This delivery flight is the initial stage of the helicopter being leased to Bristow for operations on the North Sea. We are awaiting Cougar’s response to our enquiries regarding the length of the… Read more »
Weststar has done very well winning contracts in Malaysia, mainly in the offshore oil and gas support role, and is now looking to branch out branch out further. They intend continuing to focus on the offshore role, and have identified Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar (aka Burma) as target markets. As part of this push, group… Read more »
On the occasion of the exhibition LIMA (Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition) in Malaysia, Turbomeca (SAFRAN Group) announced that its Arriel and Makila the 21 Malaysian Helicopter Services Helicopters (MHS), reached a million hours of flight. MHS is now the operator of the largest civil helicopters in Malaysia. The fleet is deployed MHS currently… Read more »
RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico, today announced key appointments in finance and business development. Joan McCarthy has been named CFO, bringing the company extensive expertise in management and accounting including more than 15 years of experience in the offshore oil and gas service industry. Travis Latiolais, RLC’s newly-named Vice President of Business… Read more »
CHC has this week transferred an AW139 from the Dutch register to the Canadian register – serial number 31072 going from PH-EUA to C-GNDG. However, industry sources tell us that it’s not going to Canada, but is destined for operations in Tanzania. It is currently on its ferry flight as we file this story, expected… Read more »
Oil & Gas UK welcomes the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report published on November 24 on the tragic crash of helicopter Flight 85N which took place off the Aberdeenshire coast on 1 April 2009. Robert Paterson, Oil & Gas UK’s health and safety director, said: “With today’s publication of the report, we remember, first… Read more »
Bristow Helicopters Ltd. has appointed Ian Taylor as the company’s new quality and safety manager for its European business unit. With more than 20 years experience in the aviation industry, Taylor joins Bristow from its affiliate group FB Heliservices Ltd (FBH) where he held the same role. Taylor will relocate from Dubai to the company’s… Read more »
Bristow Group Inc.(NYSE: BRS), the leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, today announced that the Company will be attending the Jefferies 2011 Global Energy held in Houston onNovember 30 – December 1,  2011. Jonathan Baliff, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is scheduled to present on Thursday, December 1, at 10:30 a.m. Central Time (11:30 a.m. Eastern Time).  A live broadcast… Read more »
Bristow Group Inc.(NYSE: BRS), the leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry today announced that the Company will be attending the Dahlman Rose & Co. First Annual Ultimate Oil Services & Drilling Conference to be held in New York City,November 29-30, 2011. Mark Duncan, Senior Vice President Commercial, is scheduled to present on Tuesday, November 29, at 10:40 a.m…. Read more »
Representatives for both companies wouldn’t give details of the settlement. Cougar’s statement of claim said it was looking for more than $20 million for negligence and fraudulent misrepresentation after the crash (see full story)
CHC yesterday registered a new Sikorsky S92 on the British Register as G-WNSA. Given their previous use of the G-SNSx series for Southern North Sea ops, it is assumed that the new S92 is for Western North Sea flights. The helicopter is fresh from the production line – ship #152 This is CHC’s fourth offshore… Read more »
A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds that helicopters that service the drilling platforms and vessels in the Gulf of Mexico crash on average more than six times per year resulting in an average of 5 deaths per year. From 1983 to 2009, 178 crashes resulted… Read more »
CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co have announced plans to buy another seven Eurocopter EC225LP to support oil operations off the China coast. Deliveries would be made over the next 3-4 years. It appears that the company is seeking local approvals before actually placing the order with Eurocopter Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com
Global operator CHC are understood to be selling at least two Eurocopter AS332L Super Pumas to the Chilean military.  The pair, both currently registered in the UK, are being worked on at their heavy maintenance base in Stavangar, Norway, according to industry sources.  They have been painted in a gloss grey scheme. It is possible… Read more »
Bristow has Southern North Sea contracts with Shell, Conoco Phillips and BP which see an average of 480 flights a month from Norwich in the peak period, dropping to about 300 in the quieter winter season. (see full story)
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that JSC Euro-Asia Air of Kazakhstan has ordered two additional AW139 medium twin helicopters. These offshore configured AW139s will be used to perform transport operations in Kazakhstan’s section of the Caspian Sea. One of the two aircraft will be provided with the Full Ice Protection System (FIPS)… Read more »
Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: BRS), the leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock issued and outstanding at the close of business on November 18, 2011 (the “Record Date”). The dividend will be payable on December 12, 2011 to stockholders… Read more »
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that Bristow Group Inc. has signed a contract for six AW189 helicopters plus options for additional aircraft. The aircraft will be used to perform offshore transport missions. The contract marks a further expansion of the fleet of AgustaWestland helicopters operated by Bristow, which already has AW139s operating… Read more »
PHI, Inc. today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Oil and Gas segment revenues were $96.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, compared to $89.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, an increase of $6.8 million. Flight hours were 29,901 for the current quarter compared to 30,119… Read more »