HOUSTON, Jan. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Era Group Inc. (NYSE:ERA), one of the largest helicopter operators in the world, today announced that its search and rescue (SAR) program is the 2017 winner of Helicopter Association International’s Salute to Excellence Airbus Helicopters Golden Hour Award. The annual award is presented to those who have advanced the use of helicopters in the vital mission of air medical transport.
“We are honored by the recognition for the excellence of Era’s SAR program, which offers the highest level of life-saving support for those in need,” said Chris Bradshaw, Era’s President and CEO. “Era’s SAR program is the premier search and rescue provider in the U.S., and this award is a testament to the dedicated teams at Era and our partner Priority 1 Air Rescue who have worked so hard to position our SAR program at the forefront of the industry.”
Era pioneered the first U.S. commercial SAR program, in partnership with Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR). Era’s SAR program has responded to more than 1,050 emergency calls from more than 70 companies in the Gulf of Mexico. As the only search and rescue provider that is medically licensed in Texas and Louisiana, Era’s SAR program provides 24-hour offshore advanced life support medical care on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
“Our partnership with Era SAR is a natural fit for Priority 1 Air Rescue’s search and rescue mission support expertise and I believe the program’s proven capability and success is evidence of that,” noted Brad Matheson, President of Priority 1 Air Rescue. “Together we’ve built a world-class SAR program and it is truly an honor for our SAR team members to be recognized by HAI for their efforts.”
The SAR program is supported by dedicated Era dispatchers certified as Emergency Medical Dispatchers, experienced pilots qualified in instrument flight rules, night-vision goggles, air ambulance and hoist rescues, and P1AR medically qualified rescue specialists — making it the most comprehensive program serving the OCS. Era’s SAR program can support local, state and federal crisis emergency response efforts for various emergency situations.
About Era
Era Group is one of the largest helicopter operators in the world and the longest serving helicopter transport operator in the U.S. In addition to servicing its U.S. customers, Era Group also provides helicopters and related services to third-party helicopter operators and customers in other countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, India, Suriname and the United Kingdom. Era Group's helicopters are primarily used to transport personnel to, from and between offshore oil and gas production platforms, drilling rigs and other installations. In addition, Era Group’s helicopters are used to perform emergency air medical, search and rescue, firefighting, utility, VIP transport and flightseeing services. Era Group also provides a variety of operating lease solutions and technical fleet support to third party operators as well as offering unmanned aerial solutions.
About Priority 1 Air Rescue
P1AR, commonly referred to as the "One Stop SAR Shop" is solely focused on Helicopter SAR, Air Ambulance, and Tactical Training and Operations. With over 18 years of experience, and Search & Rescue Tactical Training Academies (SART/TAC) in the USA and France, P1AR has provided industry-leading synthetic and live flight mission training to well over 6,000 commercial, government, and military aircrews, on 26 helicopter types in 25 countries worldwide. P1AR also delivers and maintains dedicated aircrew staffing 24/7/365 comprised of Advanced Life Support SAR Paramedics, Hoist Operator/EMTs, and Helicopter Rescue Swimmer/EMTs, to support world class emergency aeromedical and SAR response for commercial operators performing Commercial Oil and Gas, Government, and Military DOD SAR and Air Ambulance services.
For additional information concerning Era Group, contact Andrew Puhala at (713) 369-4646 or visit Era Group's new website at www.eragroupinc.com.