The Robinson Helicopter Company, based at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California, is an American helicopter manufacturer. As of 2024, Robinson produces three models: the two-seat R22, the four-seat R44, both of which use Lycoming piston engines, and the five-seat R66, which use Rolls-Royce turbine engines.
The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engined, light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979.
The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light helicopter produced by Robinson Helicopter Company since 1992. Derived from the company's two-seat Robinson R22, the R44 features hydraulically assisted flight controls and a larger engine. It was first flown on 31 March 1990 and received FAA certification in December 1992, with the first delivery in February 1993.
The vortex ring state (VRS) is a dangerous aerodynamic condition that may arise in helicopter flight, when a vortex ring system engulfs the rotor, causing severe loss of lift. Often the term settling with power is used as a synonym, e.g., in Australia, the UK, and the US, but not in Canada, which uses the latter term for a different phenomenon.
Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C was a helicopter flight that flew between Aberdeen and the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea. On 19 January 1995, the AS 332L Super Puma helicopter operating the route, registered G-TIGK and named Cullen, was struck by lightning. The flight was carrying 16 oil workers from Aberdeen to an oil platform at the Brae oilfield. All 18 people on board survived.
The Enstrom F-28 and 280 are a family of small, light piston engine powered helicopters produced by the Enstrom Helicopter Corporation.
The Airbus Helicopters H225 is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Super Puma family. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 24 passengers along with two crew and a cabin attendant, dependent on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for offshore support and VIP passenger transport duties, as well as public service missions.
The Robinson R66 is a helicopter designed and built by Robinson Helicopter Company. It has five seats, a separate cargo compartment and is powered by a Rolls-Royce RR300 turboshaft engine. The R66 is slightly faster and smoother than the piston-powered Robinson R44 from which it is derived. The R66 received both type and production certificates from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on October 25, 2010.
Silver State Helicopters was a helicopter flight training, sight seeing tours and charter air operator. The company was founded in 1999 by Jerry Airola, flying Robinson R22 helicopters. Silver State Helicopters expanded rapidly and reported revenues of US$40.7 million in 2005 and US$78.1 million in 2006. Silver State Helicopters ceased operations and entered bankruptcy on February 3, 2008.
G-BJVX, a Norwich-based commercial Sikorsky S-76A helicopter operated by Bristow Helicopters, crashed in the evening of 16 July 2002 in the southern North Sea while it was making a ten-minute flight between the gas production platform Clipper and the drilling rig Global Santa Fe Monarch, after which it was to return to Norwich Airport.
South African Airlink Flight 8911 was a positioning flight from Durban International Airport to Pietermaritzburg Airport, South Africa, that crashed into the grounds of Merebank Secondary School, Durban shortly after take-off on 24 September 2009, injuring the three occupants of the aircraft and one on the ground. The captain of the flight subsequently died of his injuries on 7 October 2009.
On 14 August 2011, a pair of privately-owned Piaggio P.166 Albatross aircraft crashed into the Wolkberg mountains in the Limpopo province of South Africa, killing all 13 people on board both planes. The aircraft had departed minutes earlier from Tzaneen, and were flying in formation towards Johannesburg when they struck the mountain in cloud.
The 1993 Llyn Padarn helicopter crash occurred on 12 August 1993, when an RAF Westland Wessex helicopter, serial number XR524, with 3 aircrew and 4 Air Training Corps cadet passengers on board suffered a catastrophic tail rotor failure and plunged into Llyn Padarn, a lake in North Wales. Three passengers were killed.
On 21 March 2013, two helicopters of the German Federal Police collided while landing in front of Berlin Olympic Stadium, Germany, in whiteout conditions. One crew member was killed and nine other people, both on board the helicopters and on the ground, were injured.
On 21 November 2015, a Eurocopter AS350 Astar helicopter, operated by Alpine Adventures on a sightseeing flight, crashed on Fox Glacier in the South Island of New Zealand. All seven people on board died.
On 10 July 2018, a Convair 340 owned by Dutch aviation museum Aviodrome crashed during a trial flight in Pretoria, South Africa. The aircraft suffered an engine fire moments after takeoff, and crashed into a factory building as the crew attempted to return it to Wonderboom Airport.
Martin Ashley Rutty was a British entrepreneur in the London courier industry, and an adventurer and British Champion helicopter pilot. He was the first person to fly in a piston engine helicopter from Cambridge, England to Adelaide, Australia, unsupported, in 1999.
Sarona Motlhagodi, known professionally as Sasa Klaas, was a Botswana singer, rapper, songwriter and television presenter. She was born on 17 May 1993 in Botswana and raised by her single mother Anna Mokgethi, a Motswana politician. She was an all-round musician and considered Botswana's "First Lady of Hip-Hop". She made her debut with her hit single Mma Mongwato. She was in a relationship with Bakang Baxon Moitoi.
On 7 March 2021, a Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopter crashed in the Touques, Calvados, Normandy, France. The French politician and billionaire Olivier Dassault and the pilot were killed.
