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Christchurch Helicopters Recognized by HAI

Christchurch Helicopters is the 2018 winner of HAI’s Salute to Excellence Sikorsky Humanitarian Service Award for their service during the November 2016 New Zealand earthquake





Christchurch Helicopters Recognized by HAI
HAI, December 13, 2017 - Helicopter Association International (HAI) announced today that Christchurch Helicopters, of Christchurch, New Zealand, is the 2018 winner of HAI’s Salute to Excellence Sikorsky Humanitarian Service Award. This award is presented to the person or organization that best demonstrates the value of helicopters to the communities in which they operate by providing aid to those in need.

The award may be for a particular mission or for outstanding service over time. The 2018 award will be presented at HAI’s Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner at HAI HELI-EXPO 2018 in Las Vegas.

At two minutes past midnight on November 14, 2016, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook New Zealand’s South Island. Ruptures occurred on multiple fault lines in a complex sequence that lasted for about two minutes, causing massive landslides and destroying roads and rail links.

Crews from Christchurch Helicopters were among the first to arrive in Kaikoura, a seaside tourist community that was completely cut off from the rest of the country. Thousands of residents and tourists were stranded in an area with damaged infrastructure and no way of replenishing supplies. Within six hours, Christchurch Helicopters was transporting Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) personnel to Kaikoura, and starting to rescue more than 130 stranded Chinese tourists.

Once the damage was assessed, New Zealand Civil Defense recognized that a coordinated aerial program was necessary to deliver vital supplies, continue evacuations, and support the recovery project. In addition to working on the project, Christchurch Helicopters worked with Civil Defense to coordinate the work of several helicopter companies. Among the work completed was transportation of roughly 1,300 workers, delivery of vital cancer medications, and flying a plumber to an isolated farmhouse where a young mother was stranded with her baby and no water or sewage.

The services provided by Christchurch Helicopters and the consortium of other operators was the largest air brigade in New Zealand history. While it tested the company to its limits, the team at Christchurch Helicopters stepped up to the challenge and maximized resource use to provide the greatest level of support. Coincidentally, just a few months after the earthquake, Christchurch Helicopter crews also saved lives and property in the Port Hills fires in Christchurch.

The award will be presented at the annual Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner during HAI HELI-EXPO 2018. HAI HELI-EXPO®, the world’s largest helicopter trade show and exhibition, will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North and Central Halls, in Las Vegas, February 26 to March 1 with the Exhibit Hall open February 27 to March 1.


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