Karoo Helicopters

Karoo Helicopters is a South African company that specialises in aerial utility operations. It says it owns, operates and maintains its own helicopter fleet, has done so since 2000, and that its operations span Africa. Its slogan on the site is that it offers a turnkey solution to helicopter aviation requirements.

Services

• Transfers and cargo: private VIP charters, long line and live line work, humanitarian aid
• Helicopter support: security monitoring, filming and photography, rescue and firefighting
• Marine and mining: offshore operations, movement support and exploration
• Geophysical work: aerial mapping, survey, sampling, and darting and catching game
• Game work: photographic game census, wild game count and capture, and animal tracking
• Game sales
• UAV and drone operations; the company says it is one of the first UAV operators in South Africa

Helicopter fleet

• Sikorsky 300C, used mainly in the game industry for darting and capture
• MD 500 E: pilot plus four, endurance 2.8 hours
• AS 350 B2
• AS 350 B3: pilot plus five, 3 hour endurance, external load capacity listed at 1,400 kg
• Airbus BK 117: two pilots plus nine passengers or a medical kit, used on utility missions including EMS

Its drone fleet is listed as the MK1, MK2 and Dart.

Regulation and footprint

The company is regulated by the South African Civil Aviation Authority under AOC-CAA No. F05453 and Air Service Licence No. G1037D, including offshore operations. It lists locations in Cape Town and Johannesburg, Windhoek (Namibia), Luanda (Angola), Lagos and Abuja (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bombay (India).