Westwind Helicopters

Westwind Helicopters is a helicopter operator headquartered in Santa Fe, Texas, serving the United States Gulf Coast energy sector. The company was founded in 1989 in Gold River, California, to support agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of the Interior and CAL FIRE. Robert McCoy acquired it in 2008 and moved it to South Texas to work with the oil and gas industry.

Services

• Oil and gas operations: scheduled and on demand crew changes, cargo delivery and personnel transport, offshore and onshore
• Tanker and ship lightering support across the Gulf
• Utilities: power line and pipeline patrols and forestry services
• Wildlife control
• Pilot training and an in-house maintenance program

Fleet

The company says its fleet includes 4 Sikorsky S-76 helicopters, 15 Bell 407 helicopters and 3 Bell 206 helicopters. The fleet page lists the Bell 206L-4 and Bell 407 (each one crew plus six passengers) and the S-76A and S-76C++, a twin engine type suited to IFR operations.

Safety and maintenance

Westwind publishes a safety management system page and a pilot training program. New pilots complete a training program of more than three weeks that includes ground school, simulator training and in-aircraft flight training, followed by annual recurrent training. Its maintenance technicians average 22 years of experience, according to the company.

Company facts

• Founded in 1989
• Operates under FAA Parts 135, 133 and 137, according to the company
• Bases: Santa Fe, Texas; Abbeville, Louisiana; Houma, Louisiana
• Santa Fe: 409 925 7300, Abbeville: 337 740 0868, Houma: 985 873 6005