ARTICLES
Cougar Helicopters SAR Program
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Photo Credit: Cougar Helicopters
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By Cougar Helicopters Inc.
Cougar Helicopters has been engaged in
search and rescue activities on Canada's
east coast since the late 1980's, and
has expanded its SAR program to such
locations as Louisiana, Alaska, NWT and
Greenland, typically under contract and in
direct support of the oil and gas industry.
Cougar's aircraft are equipped with
Sat Comm and Blue Sky® satellite tracking.
The company also utilizes a Transport
Canada approved flight dispatching system,
a first in North America for a helicopter
operator. Licensed dispatchers and flight
followers work 24/7 out of Cougar's state of
the art Operational Control Centre (OCC)
in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador,
and all of Cougar's operations globally are
managed from the OCC.
The company utilizes the latest technology
and innovation in its SAR aircraft; they
include a dual rescue hoist, FLIR and the
recently certified SAR Automatic Flight
Control Systems (AFCS). When operational,
the SAR AFCS will give Cougar a truly
24/7 all weather response capability.
A program to allow the use of night vision
goggles by flight crews is also currently
under development.
Cougar's SAR program in St. John's
has witnessed significant growth and
expansion over the past couple of
years. It currently employs twelve pilots
and twelve rescue specialists who are
dedicated to the program. Initially used
in first response role only with a response
time of 60 minutes, the addition of a
dedicated aircraft has allowed response
times to be reduced to 30 minutes during
daylight flying hours and 45 minutes
(after dark).
The company also has a new SAR
hangar under construction. When this
new dedicated SAR facility opens late in
the fourth quarter of 2011 or early in the
first quarter of 2012, it will be manned
24/7 and the primary response time will
be further reduced. This purpose-built
facility will provide training rooms, briefing
and operations rooms, fitness facilities,
maintenance facilities, sleeping quarters
and offices, all in support of Cougar's
SAR program.
Cougar's first priority remains its clients,
the oil and gas industry, but Cougar is
recognized as a taskable asset under
Canada's national SAR system, and can
and does respond when needed.
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