First AW139 To Reach 10,000 Flight Hours

CHC Helicopter’s AW139 fleet leader has set a major operational milestone by reaching 10,000 flight hours. This significant milestone was achieved by the aircraft in less than nine years, making it the global fleet leading AW139.  The helicopter is operating from CHC’s Den Helder base in The Netherlands, performing its missions in the North Sea with almost 29,000 landings to date.

“This is the kind of exceptional aircraft reliability you get when you put a proven airframe in the hands of skilled and committed CHC people, on the ground and in the air,” said Jeff Scotland, CHC’s vice president, Fleet Planning.  “Like AgustaWestland, we are extremely proud of this accomplishment.”

A leading AW139 customer, CHC operates more than 40 AW139s globally performing a wide range of missions including offshore transport, search and rescue, and emergency medical service.  The event marks a major achievement for the AW139 intermediate helicopter model, which is best in its class with a 56% share of the world market, and follows other results reached last year including 100,000 flight hours by CHC’s AW139 fleet and 1 million flight hours performed by the whole global fleet of AW139s.
 
The strong collaboration between AgustaWestland and CHC has played an important role in ensuring that the AW139’s mission effectiveness enhancements over the years, through the Maintenance Improvement Team and the development and implementation of new support solutions, such as the Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) advanced anomaly detection system.
 
CHC has also been benefitting from a comprehensive range of training services in support of their specific missions, with more than 200 pilots being trained worldwide every year by the AgustaWestland Training Network, logging approximately 1,200 flight hours on Level D Full Flight Simulators. CHC’s training benefits from the partnership between AgustaWestland, CHC and CAE, which allows AgustaWestland to deliver customized training solutions that are aligned with CHC’s Standard Operating Procedures and based on Competence and Line Orientation.  Availability of tailored training curricula to CHC’s needs results in effective training solutions that enhance safety for passengers and flight crews, as well as operational effectiveness.

The AW139 delivers Category A (Class 1) performance from a helipad (elevated or at ground level) at maximum take-off weight with an unmatched one engine inoperative capability.  More than 220 customers from almost 70 countries have ordered approximately 900 AW139 helicopters so far to perform a wide range of roles including offshore transport, EMS/SAR, executive/private transport, law enforcement, utility and government missions.

(Image provided by AgustaWestland)

FMI: www.agustawestland.com