Copterline Oy

Copterline
IATA ICAO Callsign
– AAQ COPTERLINE
Founded 2002
Ceased operations 2010
Hubs Hernesaari Heliport
Fleet size 9
Destinations 2
Headquarters Helsinki, Finland
Website http://www.fast-class.com/
Copterline Helicopter taking off from Helsinki-Malmi airport

Copterline Oy was Finland's largest helicopter airline. In 2004 the company ferried over 75,000 passengers. On December 19, 2008, Copterline confirmed that it had ceased its scheduled service between Helsinki and Tallinn.[1] On 15 February 2010, Copterline filed for bankruptcy, citing inability to keep the company profitable.[2] Its head office was located on the grounds of Helsinki-Malmi Airport in Helsinki.[3] In 2011, Line Support Oy, founded by mostly the same group as Copterline Oy, announced a resumption of service from September, operated by its Estonian subsidiary Copterline OÜ. On 9 September 2011, the first commercial flights were undertaken.

Services

Copterline used to maintain hourly passenger flights across the Gulf of Finland between Helsinki, Finland (Helsinki Hernesaari Heliport) and Tallinn, Estonia (Tallinn Linnahall Heliport) between 07:00–20:00 (14 round trips), 9:00–17:00 on Saturdays (9 round trips) and 10:00–16:00 on Sundays (7 round trips). The trip took 18 minutes, and the helicopters could carry 12 passengers on each flight.

In August 2006, Copterline sold its last remaining S-76 and focused on charter flights. Copterline resumed the route between Helsinki and Tallinn on April 9, 2008, with a new AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter. The company was planning a new terminal in Helsinki.

In August 2008, a second AW139 entered into the fleet, and started operating in the same route. Kaj Takolander became CEO of the company.

On December 19, 2008, Copterline confirmed that it had ceased its scheduled service between Helsinki and Tallinn and was now looking at the possibility of alternative uses for its helicopters, otherwise, it will sell or lease its aircraft.[4]

As of September 2011 the Copterline website is back in service with a flight schedule advertising flights up until the Christmas period. The new service is offered by the Estonian company Copterline OÜ with an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter owned and operated by the Finnish company FastClass Oy. The 2011 service offers 5 round trips on weekdays with no scheduled weekend service.

Incidents and accidents

In spring 2004, the company had been restricted from commercial flights in bad weather conditions, due to concerns about pilot qualifications, but the restriction has since been lifted.

On August 10, 2005 Flight 103, a Sikorsky S-76, crashed into the sea near Tallinn, Estonia, three to four minutes after taking off. The craft was carrying 14 people, all of whom were killed: six Finnish, four Estonian and two American passengers, and two Finnish crew members. The disaster was caused by the failure of the power steering system of the American-built helicopter. According to Estonian authorities, no distress signals of any kind were received. However, after examining the helicopter's black box it has been reported that the pilots had attempted sending one, but wasn't received because an air traffic controller in Tallinn Airport was reading back a landing permit. The black box also revealed that the pilots had remained calm and attempted a safe landing in a "by the book" fashion.

The cause of the accident was the failure of the power flying control system. Plasma coating on the pistons of the power flying control system had flaked off and blocked the return valve, causing the aircraft to lose its maneuverability. It was revealed in 2007 that the failed component was inside a system that Copterline did not have the authority to service or even open. A periodic leak test that could have revealed the problem was omitted. Furthermore, the emergency floats failed to operate. The manufacturer, Sikorsky, confirmed that damages have been paid to the families of the casualties, but a court case between Copterline and Sikorsky is still pending.

Fleet

The Copterline fleet consists of nine helicopters and several rescue craft.

Copterline uses four Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters for emergency and medical service operations from three different base: Oulu, Pete got moved from Vaasa to Tampere and Varkaus.

References

  1. ↑ "Copterline to suspend regular flights between Helsinki and Tallinn from today". Helsingin Sanomat. 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  2. ↑ "Copterline Files for Bankruptcy". Yle. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  3. ↑ Home page." Copterline. Retrieved on 25 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Copterline to suspend regular flights between Helsinki and Tallinn from today". Helsingin Sanomat. 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
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Coordinates: 60°08′52″N 024°55′28″E / 60.14778°N 24.92444°E / 60.14778; 24.92444

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