Outbound Safety Policy
Understanding the stigma attached to aviation, especially in the realm of tourism, we pride ourselves on our safety practices. procedures and protocols. As a tourism, utility and charter provider in South Central Alaska, serving all of Alaska, we consider it our responsibility to be on the forefront of safety.
A few things about our hiring and training processes that are standard for our company and that help us maintain a stellar safety record:
- Pilot applicants are required to have 700 hours minimum flight time to be considered for employment. (There are some rare exceptions, for exceptional pilots.) This is not the norm of 135 operators in the state of Alaska.
As tourism drives our economy, most pilots are hired as very low time/low hour pilots, just out of flight school, with no prior experience flying in Alaska. They are considered seasonal workers and typically spend a summer getting their “rotors” wet before moving on to higher paying flying positions outside of tourism. - As operators of the largest 135 fleet of Robinson Helicopters in the country, all of our pilots are required to complete the Robinson Safety Course.
- Newly hired pilots attend at least 80 hours of ground based training as well as 15 hours of flight training with the Director of Operations and the Chief Pilot prior to completing their check ride.
- Because pilots are hired with 700+ flight hours , they tend to be more experienced and versatile pilots, having multiple aircraft ratings, as well as experience in a multitude of flying environments.
- We are a year round operation. This gives pilots the opportunity to gain experience flying in different terrain as well as different weather conditions. It also helps keep pilots current on their logged flight time and certifications.
- Although not a requirement, the majority of our pilot hires are also Certified Flight Instructors as well as Certified A&P mechanics. This is important to note, as this allows valuable ground based and air training opportunities “in house” to be available on a regular basis. We find that well rounded pilots make for better candidates in Alaska’s unique flying environment.
- All pilots and employees are Wilderness First Aid Responder Certified as well as Crevasse Rescue trained, and CPR certified.
Maintenance Of Our Fleet
The maintenance of our Robinson R44 and R66 helicopters is performed “in house”. We are an authorized Robinson Helicopter Service Center and a FAR 145 Repair Station. Our aircraft are maintained by A & P and IA mechanics to FAR 135 standards in accordance with Robinson’s Technical Publications.
Regular 50 hour, 100 hour, and Annual maintenance and inspection checks are performed on each insured aircraft. Daily flight and maintenance logs are updated and are in each helicopter.
Thorough, daily pre-flight checks are performed by each pilot, for each aircraft flown.
Atmosphere of Safety
Safety in the realm of helicopters extends far beyond the pilots. While the helicopters are in the air flying, there is a whole operation on the ground maintaining everything from a safe landing zone, to satellite communication with pilots, to welcoming, weighing in, and safety briefing each and every passenger to monitoring weather and air traffic. Keeping passengers safe around departure areas is just as important as keeping them safe inside the aircraft. Ground crew and operations are also tracking any aircraft in flight and until all aircraft are secured for the day.
As owner/operators, we feel that operating under the highest safety standards just is not a choice. We absolutely love providing the services that we do and want to continue to do so for years to come.
