31 January, 2019: Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin has been selected by a major oil company to provide deepwater transportation to rigs off the shores of Mexico. Three fielded S-92 helicopters will support the client’s operations, including crew change and search and rescue.
With the flight hours increasing to seven percent in 2018 despite the downturn in offshore transportation demand, the operational tempo of S-92 continues to grow.
The offshore and utility type certificate for the Sikorsky S-92A helicopter was approved by Mexico's Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics in November of 2017.
The S-92 is the preferred aircraft of its size class since it provides safety and reliability for offshore oil worker transportation. More than 300 production S-92 helicopters have been delivered by Sikorsky since 2004. The fleet flew 175,000 hours in 2018, a record for the fleet, contributing to a total of nearly 1.5 million hours flown.
“We are very happy the customer has selected the S-92 for this important service,” said David Martin, Sikorsky vice president of Oil & Gas. “We are respectful of the trust our customers place in us, and we are working hard to ensure this mature and reliable helicopter is also the most economical.”
Lockheed Martin has been investing in Sikorsky’s commercial sustainment to support both the S-92 and S-76 helicopters, including in a 24-hour, state-of-the-art customer care centre in Trumbull, Connecticut, the opening of four Forward Stocking Locations world-wide and an increase in the number of Sikorsky field service representatives as well as the continued authorisation of Sikorsky customer support centres since 2016.