Geisinger Health adds fifth EC145 helicopter
Geisinger Health System adds fifth Eurocopter EC145 and completes its fleet modernisation programme.
American Eurocopter has announced that Geisinger Health System, in Danville, Penn. has ordered a fifth EC145 for its Life Flight programme. The new helicopter acquisition is part of Geisinger’s fleet modernisation plan.
Geisinger Health has a long history of operating Eurocopter helicopters starting with the BK117 aircraft.
“The BK117 platform earned the respect of our crew and our program,” said Jerry Splitt, program manager for Geisinger Life Flight. “We selected the EC145 because Eurocopter builds off the successes of the BK and has made it an even better aircraft.”
The new aircraft is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2013. Geisinger is negotiating with United Rotorcraft to perform the completion. Geisinger was awarded a Part 135 air carrier certificate in November 2012 and now is the operator of its flight programme.
“We have set the highest level of standards for our crew and our program, and we expect the same out of our aircraft and the vendor’s we work with,” said Splitt. “The EC145 meets those standards and the great support we receive from American Eurocopter helps to make sure that we stay there.”
The addition of the new EC145 completes Geisinger Life Flight’s fleet replacement programme. “With a common platform, we are able to take advantage of efficiencies from operation and training standpoints. With the common EC145 platform, we are also able to mitigate risk and take advantage of the aircraft’s twin-engine performance,” said Splitt.
