AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica Company, and Osprey Training of Sweden announced today that they have signed an agreement for the establishment of a fully integrated Search and Rescue Training Centre in Sweden, based on the AW139 medium twin turbine helicopter. Under this agreement, the Centre will supply advanced AgustaWestland-authorised training services to pilots, crewmen and maintenance technicians from AW139 operators across the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. The purpose-built Training Centre will be situated Gothenburg and is expected to achieve operational readiness by mid-2012.
Osprey Training is a newly created company to emerge from Norrlandsflyg AB, the largest helicopter operator and the only SAR operator in Sweden. Norrlandsflyg is a Swedish company based in Gothenburg, which has successfully been delivering Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) since 1970 and Search & Rescue (SAR) for the Swedish Government since 2002.
The creation of the first AgustaWestland-approved training centre in Scandinavia will initially be certified in accordance with the Swedish CAA, with the intention of expanding into EASA and FAA regulated training at the earliest possible date. This is aimed at extending AgustaWestland’s AW139 world class helicopter training to a regionally based SAR operator and training provider. The training centre will be equipped with a dual-certified AW139 Level 3 Flight Training Device / Level B Full Flight Simulator and further training devices to deliver AW139 pilot and maintenance engineer training alongside SAR mission-specific training.
Setting up a training centre in Sweden will enable AgustaWestland to better serve existing and potential new customers in the area, particularly those operating in the Oil & Gas industry, offshore wind farm industry and the SAR market.