The French Sécurité Civile (the state rescue arm) no longer has a defined entry-into-service schedule for its Eurocopter EC 145 twin-turbine helicopters. It has officially taken delivery of the first three of 32 ordered aircraft (a $150 million contract) during the last six months, two years after the originally planned date. However, problems remain with some equipment and the launch customer cannot say its EC 145s are 100-percent operational.
Although the thornier technical problems were solved before the first delivery, Col. André Ben Kemoun, head of communications at the Sécurité Civile, told AIN, “We are still experiencing little problems with some accessories, such as the winch.” Pilots and maintenance technicians are currently training on the three delivered aircraft in Nîmes. “However, we used our EC 145s for flood-rescue operations in September,” Col. Ben Kemoun said.
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