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Helicopter company wins military contract
Sunday, February 22, 2009 | No comments posted.
MEDFORD (AP) — The owners of a helicopter that crashed and killed nine men fighting a California wildfire last year are moving some of their aircraft to Afghanistan, where they will haul supplies for the U.S. military.
The Medford Mail Tribune reported that Carson Helicopters Inc. has signed a contract with a subsidiary of the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide to provide seven helicopters for supply missions.
The director of helicopter operations for Carson, Andy Mills, declined to identify the partner.
But the newspaper said court documents and Department of Defense records indicate the contract is with Presidential Airways Inc., a subsidiary of the North Carolina company that was known until last week as Blackwater Worldwide, now called Xe.
Carson’s headquarters are in Perkasie, Penn., but it maintains an Oregon office in the town of Merlin.
In December, U.S. Transportation Command awarded Presidential Airways a contract worth up to $605 million for passenger and cargo helicopter services in Afghanistan through 2013.
Mills said Carson will provide seven Sikorsky S-61 helicopters, the workhorse of its firefighting fleet, along with parts and maintenance support services. Two of the seven helicopters have been sold to the partner and the contract terms remain open on whether the other company will pay to use or buy outright the rest of the aircraft.
“These are for flying supplies, not combat,” Mills said. “We won’t operate them, but we will do maintenance and support.”
Carson will train and serve as a resource for its partner, but doesn’t plan to send employees to Afghanistan, he said.
Employees at the company’s Merlin outpost have already started painting and installing seats and radio equipment in the helicopters expected to head to Afghanistan in April.
Carson faces a number of lawsuits from an Aug. 5, 2008, crash that killed nine of 13 people aboard a Carson Sikorsky S-61 helicopter in Northern California.
In one of those suits, Columbia Helicopters Inc. of Aurora, which also faces liability claims from the crash, alleges that Carson’s military subcontract was a fraudulent transfer of assets to block creditors and plaintiffs.
Mills declined comment on the allegation.
The Medford Mail Tribune reported that Carson Helicopters Inc. has signed a contract with a subsidiary of the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide to provide seven helicopters for supply missions.
The director of helicopter operations for Carson, Andy Mills, declined to identify the partner.
But the newspaper said court documents and Department of Defense records indicate the contract is with Presidential Airways Inc., a subsidiary of the North Carolina company that was known until last week as Blackwater Worldwide, now called Xe.
Carson’s headquarters are in Perkasie, Penn., but it maintains an Oregon office in the town of Merlin.
In December, U.S. Transportation Command awarded Presidential Airways a contract worth up to $605 million for passenger and cargo helicopter services in Afghanistan through 2013.
Mills said Carson will provide seven Sikorsky S-61 helicopters, the workhorse of its firefighting fleet, along with parts and maintenance support services. Two of the seven helicopters have been sold to the partner and the contract terms remain open on whether the other company will pay to use or buy outright the rest of the aircraft.
“These are for flying supplies, not combat,” Mills said. “We won’t operate them, but we will do maintenance and support.”
Carson will train and serve as a resource for its partner, but doesn’t plan to send employees to Afghanistan, he said.
Employees at the company’s Merlin outpost have already started painting and installing seats and radio equipment in the helicopters expected to head to Afghanistan in April.
Carson faces a number of lawsuits from an Aug. 5, 2008, crash that killed nine of 13 people aboard a Carson Sikorsky S-61 helicopter in Northern California.
In one of those suits, Columbia Helicopters Inc. of Aurora, which also faces liability claims from the crash, alleges that Carson’s military subcontract was a fraudulent transfer of assets to block creditors and plaintiffs.
Mills declined comment on the allegation.
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