S-92 helicopter fleet surpasses one million flight hours

The global fleet of Sikorsky S-92 helicopters recently surpassed one million flight hours, in an impressively short time of less than 12 years. Sikorsky is a Lockheed Martin company.

“We are incredibly thankful to our customers, suppliers and employees for reaching this milestone, and we are tremendously proud of the S-92 helicopter’s industry-leading safety record,” said Sikorsky president Dan Schultz. “Sikorsky is committed to providing world-class customer support and technological advancements to our customers who select the S-92 helicopter for their most demanding missions in some of the world’s toughest conditions.”

With more than one million fleet flight hours of service, and an accident rate less than one-tenth the U.S. civil multi-turbine engine helicopter rate; Sikorsky believes the S-92 helicopter sets the industry standard for safety and reliability. The S-92 was certified to Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency harmonized Part 29 requirements, as amended through Amendment 47. 

It led the way by being the first aircraft certified to this rigorous standard and by meeting or exceeding oil-and-gas industry requirements. The availability rate of the S-92 fleet averages more than 95 percent each month.

In this milestone year, the American Helicopter Society International honored the S-92 helicopter program with the Harry T. Jensen Award for its outstanding safety record. In 2002, the S-92 helicopter was honored with the prestigious Collier Trophy. 

Since 2004, Sikorsky has delivered more than 275 S-92 helicopters, predominantly to operators serving the worldwide offshore oil-and-gas industry, and for civil search-and-rescue. Eleven nations fly the dual-engine S-92 helicopter for their head of state missions. 

In May 2014, Sikorsky was selected to build the next U.S. Presidential Helicopter fleet, the world’s most advanced executive transport helicopter, using the S-92 platform.