Coptersafety and Østnes partnering to address training needs in Nordic countries

Coptersafety and Østnes are partnering to develop a full-flight simulator for the Airbus H125, the most common helicopter type in Nordic countries.

“Coptersafety is independent from any helicopter or simulator manufacturers, unlike most training providers,” said Mikko Dahlman, Coptersafety CEO. “With Østnes we are now offering pilot training like Safety as a Service (SaaS), which is something we have not yet seen in the sector.”

There is a significant amount of H125 operators within the aviation market, but simulator training is lagging, compared to the operation of twin engine helicopters in sectors such as oil and gas, search and rescue, and helicopter emergency medical services.

This makes Østnes, a Nordic Airbus Helicopters distributor, a natural partner to increase simulation training’s prevalence. As per the agreement, Østnes is now an authorized dealer for Coptersafety training services.

“With our new H125 level D simulator we can now jointly offer the safety culture and training capabilities already seen in O&G, SAR, and HEMS operations to a whole new range of single engine onshore operators. As a result, we hope the number of single engine onshore helicopter accidents can be efficiently mitigated. With our simulator services pilots can be one step ahead of reality,” Dahlman said.

Studies show that over 50 percent of single-engine helicopter accidents onshore are due to pilot error, and single-engine helicopters are ten times more likely to have an accident in onshore operations than in oil and gas (O&G) operations offshore. One of the reasons for higher safety performance in O&G is thanks to the use of full flight simulators.

“Airbus H125 is currently the dominant single engine model in the Nordic countries. There is a clear demand for better training solutions and capabilities in onshore single engine helicopter operations,” said Østnes President Frode Østnes.