In a final report released on October 23, UK AAIB investigators were puzzled by the pilot's reaction—or rather the lack of it—after he acknowledged low fuel warnings in his Airbus Helicopters EC135 T2+, which eventually crashed and killed 10 in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2013. Without flight recorders, investigators cannot understand why the police...
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, announced that Lisa Atherton has been named executive vice president of military business. In this role, Atherton will be responsible for providing strategic direction, overall management and performance for all government programs and business development efforts. Atherton succeeds Mitch Snyder who was recently appointed Bell Helicopter president and...
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, announced the sale of eight Bell 206L-4s to Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH). AMGH is one of the largest independent providers of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in the world, and the aircraft will be configured for HEMS missions and operated by Air Evac Lifeteam, an AMGH subsidiary. Deliveries are scheduled to begin next year. The contr...
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, announced a purchase agreement with CareFlite for its second Bell 429. CareFlite, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) corporation based in Dallas Fort Worth, provides air and ground ambulance service from its bases across North Texas. The aircraft will be outfitted to perform Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) missions throughout the region. This sale comes on...
The versatility of Airbus Helicopters’ multi-mission workhorse, the H125 (formerly AS350 B3e), will be put to the test as the latest member of Nautilus Aviation’s expanding fleet in North Queensland. The company plans to use the versatile Squirrel for everything from luxury charters to popular helicopter tourism experiences like heli fishing and adrenaline tours, through to hea...
Certification testing of Mi-38 medium helicopter is being completed, Voenno-promishlenniy Courier reports with reference to a source close to the military-industrial sector. «Type certificate for Mi-38 helicopter will be received in December 2015. The “B” Category type certificate will be issued for Mi-38; the document allows transportation of cargo,» the source said....
South Korea and Russian Helicopters have extended the Ka-32 engine maintenance certificate. Prior to this, representatives from the Korean Office of Civil Aviation and HELIKOREA paid an official visit to the Aircraft Repair Facility No. 150, a part of the Russian holding. Russian Helicopters will continue the repairs of the TV3-117 engines, VR-252 gearboxes, AI-9 APUs, and other Ka-32...
Bell Helicopter chief executive John Garrison is leaving the company to take over the top leadership post at a non-aerospace company, parent Textron announced on 15 October. Garrison will become the CEO of Terex, an industrial products company with annual revenues of more than $7 billion, Textron says. The former Textron and Enron executive joined Bell in 2009 at the depth of the company&rsq...
Sikorsky will conduct a significant amount of ground testing on its S-97 Raider before returning to flight trials, with just 2.2h of a 110h flight test programme clocked since the maiden flight in May. S-97 chief test pilot Bill Fell says more testing will be done with ground-test rid at Sikorsky’s plant in West Palm Beach, Florida, to build “confidence” in the aircraft’...
Two Boeing helicopter programmes – the Boeing AH-64 and CH-47 Chinook – face several cut-backs if the Congress is unable to pass a new budget for Fiscal 2016, US Army acquisition leaders warn. The army’s request to buy 64 AH-64Es in the fiscal year that began on 1 October would be cut by half under a continuing resolution, says Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the army for a...
The Royal Thai Army is to increase its fleet of AgustaWestland AW139 utility helicopters to 10 units, after awarding the manufacturer a follow-on order for eight of the intermediate twins. Deliveries of the rotorcraft will be completed before the end of 2016, the European company announced during the Helitech exhibition in London. Flightglobal's Fleets Analyzer database records Thailand&...
Lockheed Martin’s pending acquisition of Sikorsky has caused some contractual changes between Lockheed and Bell Helicopter for V-280 Valor development to ensure there is no cross pollination with its competitor, the Boeing-Sikorsky SB-1 Defiant. Bell president and chief executive John Garrison says Lockheed continues to be a good partner on the programme and already follows many of the fi...