21-Jun-2012Source: RLC
RLC, LLC today announced that Edie Hunt has joined the organization as Vice President Human Resources. She brings nearly 15 years of management and leadership experience in the field of human resources to her new role at RLC and has a proven track record in recruiting and retaining exceptional talent to facilitate company growth. As... Read more
18-Jun-2012Source: FreeFlight Systems
For First Rule-Compliant ADS-B Installation In GOMEX Helicopters Waco Texas, June 14, 2012, FreeFlight Systems, a leading NextGen avionics supplier, and Chevron Corporation announced today that FreeFlight Systems has received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the first fully rule-compliant ADS-B solution for Gulf of Mexico (GOMEX) helicopter operators. Developed using the FreeFlight Systems RANGR... Read more
29-May-2012Source: HeliHub.com
This news item is part of the accident data provided by HeliHub.com on this site. Information provided in this update may potentially be incomplete or inaccurate as we frequently post these stories only a very short time after the accident has occurred. Users of HeliHub.com are advised to carry out their own checks and searches,... Read more
28-May-2012
PHi LongRanger down in GOM. Sole occupant pilot lost his life – body found and recovered four hours after accident. Helicopter completely submerged. Pilot later named as Arturo Lebron... Read more
14-May-2012Source: OPEIU
Oil service industry helicopter pilots in the Gulf of Mexico andAlaska, members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 107 employed by Bristow LLC, have voted to ratify a three-year agreement covering 235 pilots. The agreement comes after 18 months of negotiations and was ratified by 84.3 percent of the voting members. The secret... Read more
30-Apr-2012Source: Standard & Poor
Overview — U.S. aviation service provider PHI Inc.’s operating performance has improved materially over the last several quarters due to increased Gulf of Mexico activity and increased profitability in the company’s Air Medical segment. — We are revising the outlook on the company to stable from negative. We are affirming the ‘B+’ corporate credit rating.... Read more
18-Apr-2012Source: HeliHub.com
This news item is part of the accident data provided by HeliHub.com on this site. Information provided in this update may potentially be incomplete or inaccurate as we frequently post these stories only a very short time after the accident has occurred. Users of HeliHub.com are advised to carry out their own checks and searches,... Read more
17-Apr-2012Source: RLC
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
17-Apr-2012
U.S. Coast Guard responded to a downed helicopter about 82 nautical miles off Vermilion Bay in the vicinity of Vermilion Block 336. The Sikorsky S-76 was floating upside down, and the life raft had been deployed. All 7 POB accounted for... Read more
26-Feb-2012Source: RLC
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
15-Feb-2012Source: American Eurocopter
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
29-Jan-2012Source: HeliHub.com
PHi has committed to an expansion program at Scholes International Airport for completion within the next two years, and in exchange the City of Galveston has waived over $850,000 of lease payments. PHi, which has operated from the airport since 2001, flies S76 and S92 helicopters to Gulf of Mexico rigs from here. PHi will... Read more
6-Dec-2011Source: RLC
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
1-Dec-2011
Autorotated into the water and rolled over... Read more
25-Nov-2011Source: Johns Hopkins University
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
17-Nov-2011Source: RLC
RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico, today announced it has signed a four-year contract with FlightSafety International, the world’s leading aviation training company and provider of flight simulators and advanced flight training devices used by the aviation industry, governments and military agencies worldwide. This agreement extends a relationship between RLC... Read more
27-Oct-2011Source: Miami Herald
Plaintiffs’ attorneys say Stratford, Conn.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. reached agreements this week with relatives of at least five victims who died and with the crash’s lone survivor. (see full story)... Read more
21-Sep-2011Source: RLC
RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico, today announced it has earned the Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) 2010 Operator Safety Award. This coveted honor is bestowed upon helicopter operators who operated without accident in the previous year. HAI acknowledged RLC for its outstanding 2010 safety record of 72,000+ accident-free flight hours.... Read more
15-Sep-2011Source: RLC
Today RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico, announced the appointment of Dru Milke as CEO of RLC. Milke brings RLC a wealth of domestic and international management experience and a proven track record in both the offshore rotorcraft services and oil and gas industries. The company also recently named Larry... Read more
15-Sep-2011Source: RLC
RLC, the largest privately-held helicopter operator for the oil & gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico, today announced that it has secured a strategic investment from Sankaty Advisors, one of the nation’s leading private managers of fixed income and credit instruments. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Broussard, Louisiana, RLC... Read more
15-Sep-2011Source: RLC
Today in conjunction with the announcement of a strategic investment from Sankaty Advisors and a number of key leadership team appointments, helicopter services provider RLC unveiled a fresh corporate brand identity including a new logo, tagline and redesigned website. As part of this evolution, the company, previously known as Rotorcraft Leasing Company, has standardized on... Read more
12-Sep-2011Source: UPI
Helicopters servicing drilling platforms and ships in the Gulf of Mexico crash on average six times per year, mostly from mechanical failure, a report says.... Read more
31-Aug-2011Source: Houston Chronicle
In a court filing last Friday, PHI Inc. claims Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. withheld a report by one of its lead engineers because his analysis concluded Sikorsky’s faulty design caused its helicopter to crash near Morgan City. (see full story)... Read more
27-Aug-2011
Helicopter ditched in the Gulf of Mexico, 10 miles off Sabine Pass, TX. Emergency floats deployed and photos show helicopter upright floating on the water.... Read more
2-Aug-2011Source: Seacor Holdings
Era Group Inc. (“Era”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc. CKH -0.41% (“SEACOR”), one of the largest helicopter operators in the world, today announced that it has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The shares to be... Read more
13-May-2011
Ditched into Gulf of Mexico, offshore from Mobile AL... Read more
6-Mar-2011Source: Pratt & Whitney Canada
PHI Inc (NASDAQ: PHII, PHIIK), a leading provider of helicopter transportation and related services to a diverse customer group that includes the oil and gas industries, has purchased 10 AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada’s (P&WC’s) PT6C-67C engines. As well, PHI has signed a long-term Engine Service Agreement for the repair and... Read more
22-Feb-2011Source: Galveston Daily News
Shell pays about $1.5M annually in taxes by using Scholes International Airport. These are imposed on passengers flying on large helicopters such as S-92s and S-76s, which PHI operates at Scholes. To avoid the tax, Shell has asked PHI to move its base from the island to a non-airport field in Alvin. Click on the... Read more
15-Feb-2011Source: HAI
HAI is pleased to announce a Gulf of Mexico ADS-B avionics forum will be held at HELI-EXPO 2011 in Orlando, Fla. on Tuesday, March 8, from 1:00pm-3:00pm in Room S230 A & B of the Orange County Convention Center. The forum will include helicopter operators, avionics and airframe manufacturers and the FAA, with discussion focused on... Read more
14-Feb-2011Source: Galveston Daily News
Corporate officers with PHI have grounded whirling rumors that they planned to move longtime operations from the island to the mainland.  PHI has about nine helicopters at Scholes International Airport to shuttle crews to and from offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.... Read more
4-Jan-2011Source: HAI
NBC Nightly News recently aired a report on the FAA’s Next-Generation Air Traffic System that featured the pioneering application of that system’s backbone, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), for helicopter operations in the Gulf of Mexico. “The FAA is touting a revolutionary system that it says will overhaul air traffic control across America, making the nation’s... Read more
3-Dec-2010Source: 3TheAdvocate
PHI and Bristow argue in a federal lawsuit filed last week in Lafayette that the law is an improper and unnecessary intrusion by the state into the realm of aviation regulation, which is generally handled by the federal government.... Read more
22-Nov-2010Source: Bell
FORT WORTH, TX. (November 22, 2010) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced the sale of two (2) 429 helicopters to Chevron, one of the largest integrated energy companies in the world. The aircraft will be servicing Chevron’s oil & gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico with deliveries planned in... Read more
15-Oct-2010Source: WSI
WSI (Weather Services International) today announced that its award-winning Pilotbrief Online flight service has added US Mineral Management Service (MMS) Blocks and Platforms, as well as new weather hazard analysis features focused on the Gulf of Mexico (GOMEX) for rotorcraft operators. â€WSI Pilotbrief has always offered best-in-class global weather decision support for pilots in one... Read more
18-Aug-2010Source: Louisiana Record
Mississippi resident is suing a helicopter courier service for insisting to transport him in severe and dangerous weather.... Read more
10-Aug-2010Source: Alberni Valley Times
Coulson Group president Wayne Coulson travelled to ther State of Louisiana to discuss using the company’s aerial grapple technology, according to chief operating officer Jim Messer.... Read more
17-Jul-2010Source: Era Helicopters
Era Helicopters and Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR) announced today they have launched a joint Helicopter Search and Rescue (SAR) Training School – the first ever established in North America solely dedicated to train commercial, law enforcement and foreign military aviation professionals and their aircrews in performing Helicopter SAR and HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Service). The... Read more
9-Jul-2010Source: EMS Aviation
EMS Aviation, a division of mobile connectivity leader EMS Technologies, Inc., announced today that its FLEET tracking system is being used by Florida-based Heliworks Inc. to help rescue birds endangered by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Contracted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to search for affected birds and lead rescuers... Read more
6-Jul-2010Source: Era Helicopters
Era Helicopters LLC (Era) announced today the launch of a Search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services (SAR/EMS) operation from its base located in Fourchon, Louisiana. Together, Era and Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR) will offer FAA-approved, full-service SAR/EMS capability and turnkey solutions to offshore Oil & Gas companies located in the Gulf of Mexico... Read more
30-Jun-2010Source: EADS
Sixteen U.S. Army National Guard UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters are operating in the Gulf Coast region to support oil spill monitoring and response missions known as Operation Deepwater Horizon. The sixteen Lakotas are assigned to Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida Army National Guard units who are providing observation, command and control and general aviation... Read more
18-Jun-2010Source: FAA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today’s story by the Associated Press contains a number of inaccuracies with regard to the government’s oversight of flyovers in and around the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Since May 28th, the FAA has approved every request to fly over the area – more than 176 requests. While the temporary... Read more
10-Jun-2010Source: Bristow
Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: BRS) today provided an update on the impact of the ongoing deepwater oil spill and the recently announced 180-day moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (the “Drilling Moratorium”) on its activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. “While we expect that the Drilling Moratorium will have a near... Read more
3-Jun-2010Source: Columbia Helicopters
Columbia Helicopters is pleased to announce the deployment of a second heavy-lift helicopter to Louisiana to assist with efforts in preventing the further spread of the Gulf oil spill. The helicopters will also assist with clean-up operations already underway. Working currently under contract to British Petroleum (BP), the two Columbia 107-II helicopters will carry sandbags... Read more
23-Apr-2010Source: Acadian Air Med
Acadian’s Air Med, the One Gulf Offshore Emergency Call Center and Acadian Ambulance played a key role in rescue efforts after Tuesday’s oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana, transporting 18 of the workers injured in the blast to local New Orleans area and Alabama hospitals. Eleven people are still missing after the massive... Read more
20-Mar-2010Source: Broadpoint
Broadpoint, an industry leader in telecommunications and network solutions, has announced its contract with SandRidge Energy to provide critical offshore aviation communications to the Federal Aviation Administration. Using Broadpoint’s expansive digital communications network, the Federal Aviation Administration was able to successfully upgrade critical airspace communications equipment, located on offshore oil platforms owned by SandRidge Energy,... Read more
12-Jan-2010Source: FAA
WASHINGTON — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Randy Babbitt announced today that Houston air traffic controllers are beginning to use an improved satellite-based system – Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) — to more efficiently and safely separate and manage aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico. “Safety is our highest priority at the U.S. Department of... Read more
12-Jan-2010Source: AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland , a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the VIH Cougar Helicopters Inc. of USA has taken delivery of an AW139 medium twin helicopter during an official ceremony recently held at Vergiate plant (Italy). This 12 seat-configured helicopter will be operated for offshore transport missions in the Gulf of Mexico. Emilio Dalmasso, Senior... Read more
26-Sep-2009Source: South East Texas Record
A helicopter pilot has filed suit against the owners of a platform and the company that maintains the platform, alleging he tripped while attempting to get out of a helicopter.... Read more
15-Sep-2009Source: AP
Air traffic controllers will begin using satellite technology in December to track aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico, a significant milestone in the government’s program to replace the nation’s radar-based air traffic system, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday.... Read more
17-Aug-2009
17-Aug-09 N495PH Bell B407 Main Pass 310A right, US-Gulf of Mexico... Read more
17-Aug-2009
17-Aug-09 N204PH Bell B206L3 Main Pass 310A right, US-Gulf of Mexico... Read more
29-Jul-2009Source: Street Insider
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19-Jun-2009Source: Miami Herald
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29-Mar-2009
29-Mar-09 N740PH Bell B407 GOM platform, 120 miles f Lake Charles, US-Gulf of Mexico... Read more
24-Mar-2009
24-Mar-09 N792P Sikorsky S76C Apache ST-308, Gulf of Mexico, US-Gulf of Mexico... Read more
16-Feb-2009Source: Vertical Magazine
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13-Feb-2009Source: NTSB
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5-Feb-2009Source: Aero-News
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2-Feb-2009Source: Houston Chronicle
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12-Jan-2009
12-Jan-09 N193EH Eurocopter AS350 Vermillion 229, Gulf of Mexico, US-Gulf of Mexico... Read more
4-Jan-2009
4-Jan-09 N748P Sikorsky S76C++ Gulf of Mexico, US-Gulf of Mexico... Read more
