Global helicopter services provider, CHC Helicopter, has achieved a milestone of 10,000 flight hours on the three AgustaWestland AW139s flying for its UK search-and-rescue (SAR) contract, operated on behalf of Her Majesty’s Coastguard. The service has rescued and assisted more than 2,000 people on the south coast of England.

The company’s three AgustaWestland AW139 aircraft have completed more than 3,300 missions, operating from the company’s bases in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, and Portland, Dorset. CHC has been providing the service to the UK Department for Transport on behalf of Her Majesty’s Coastguard since 2007.

Keith Devaney, base manager for CHC UK search-and-rescue, said that 10,000 hours is a significant milestone for the highly trained crews who carry people from danger and distress to safety. “Carrying 2,000 people to safety is a great achievement for everyone at both bases, and also for the global team that supports us,” he said.

“We have completed a number of high profile missions, including the rescue of 25 people from the HOEGH OSAKA cargo vessel in January 2015, as well as hundreds of individual rescues every year.”

Chris Hodson, CHC general operations manager for search-and-rescue, praised the crews and engineers at both bases. “We achieved 10,000 flight hours thanks to the collective dedication of our people, who are operating these modern aircraft every day, to the highest levels of safety, so that lives can be saved,” he said.

With the introduction of the AW139, CHC ushered in a step change in flight safety. The fleet is equipped with state-of-the-art autopilot functions, auto hover and flight director system upgrades. This has led to improved safety and higher levels of aircraft availability.

“Our search-and-rescue operation has a record of high efficiency and reliability: we’ve maintained more than 98 per cent availability for our customer, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency,” said Mr Hodson.

The helicopter operator introduced a requirement for paramedics to be qualified by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and provides the medics with state-of-the-art equipment to care for casualties.

CHC operates the world’s largest search-and-rescue network. The company delivers services on behalf of the Irish Coastguard from four bases in Ireland, the RAAF in Australia and delivers search-and-rescue services to the oil and gas industry in the UK, Norway and Australia.