![Copterline_Sikorsky_S-76C+_(OH-HCI)_at_Helsinki_Malmi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Copterline_Sikorsky_S-76C%2B_%28OH-HCI%29_at_Helsinki_Malmi.jpg)
Copterline Oy was
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's largest
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
established on 15 October 1990 as Copter Action and renamed to Copterline in 2000. In 2004 the company ferried over 75,000 passengers. On December 19, 2008, Copterline confirmed that it had ceased its scheduled service between
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
. On 15 February 2010, Copterline filed for bankruptcy, citing inability to keep the company profitable. Its head office was located on the grounds of
Helsinki-Malmi Airport
Helsinki-Malmi Airport ( fi, Helsinki-Malmin lentoasema, sv, Helsingfors-Malm flygplats) is an airfield in Helsinki, Finland, located in the district of Malmi, north-north-east of the city centre. It was opened in 1936. Until the opening of Hel ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. In 2011, Line Support Oy, founded by mostly the same group as Copterline Oy, announced a resumption of service from September, operated by its Estonian subsidiary Copterline OÜ. On 9 September 2011, the first commercial flights were undertaken.
History
Copterline acquired Helikopteripalvelu in 1999, the oldest Finnish company in the business, and began offering services in 2000.
Copterline used to maintain hourly passenger flights across the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
between
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
(
Helsinki Hernesaari Heliport
Hernesaari Heliport ( fi, Hernesaaren helikopterikenttä, sv, Ärtholmens heliport, ) is located at Hernesaari, in Helsinki, Finland. The heliport is run by Helikopterikeskus.
The Heliport that used to be in Hernesaari has been closed.
The H ...
) and
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
(
Tallinn Linnahall Heliport
Linnahall ( et, Tallinna Linnahall, 'Tallinn City Hall') (originally the V. I. Lenin Palace of Culture and Sports) is a multi-purpose venue in Tallinn, Estonia. It is situated in the harbor, just beyond the walls of the Old Town, and was complete ...
) between 07:00–20:00 (14 round trips), 9:00–17:00 on Saturdays (9 round trips) and 10:00–16:00 on Sundays (7 round trips). The trip took 18 minutes, and the helicopters could carry 12 passengers on each flight.
On 10 August 2005,
Copterline Flight 103
Copterline Flight 103 (AAQ103) was a Copterline helicopter flight en route to Helsinki, Finland from Tallinn, Estonia that crashed into the Tallinn Bay on 10 August 2005, at 12:45 local time.
The Sikorsky S-76C+ crash occurred three to five m ...
crashed while flying between Tallinn and Helsinki, three kilometers south of
Aegna
Aegna is an Estonian island in the Bay of Tallinn in the Baltic Sea. Administratively it is part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and is a sub district of the Kesklinn (City center) district.
Geography
Aegna island has an area ...
island. All 14 people onboard died. After that tragic accident, the company closed the route.
In August 2006, Copterline sold its last remaining S-76 and focused on charter flights resuming the route between Helsinki and Tallinn on April 9, 2008, with a new
AgustaWestland AW139
The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...
helicopter. The company was planning a new terminal in Helsinki.
In August 2008, a second AW139 entered into the fleet, and started operating in the same route. Kaj Takolander became CEO of the company.
On 19 December 2008, Copterline confirmed that it had ceased its scheduled service between Helsinki and Tallinn and was now looking at the possibility of alternative uses for its helicopters, otherwise, it will sell or lease its aircraft.
As of September 2011 the Copterline website was back in service with a flight schedule advertising flights up until the Christmas period. The new service was operated by the Estonian company Copterline OÜ with an
AgustaWestland AW139
The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...
helicopter owned and operated by the Finnish company FirstClass Oy. The 2011 service offered 5 round trips on weekdays with no scheduled weekend service.
Copterline has not been operating on the Helsinki-Tallinn route recently. The airline was planning to open the route again in August 2013, but these plans were postponed and later cancelled. The company currently provides helicopter services to the oil and energy sector on the North Sea.
In March 2016, Copterline OÜ filed for bankruptcy for the second time.
Incidents and accidents
* In spring 2004, the company had been restricted from commercial flights in bad weather conditions, due to concerns about pilot qualifications, but the restriction had since been lifted.
* On 10 August 2005
Flight 103, a
Sikorsky S-76
The Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-size commercial utility helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It is the company's first helicopter specifically developed for the civilian market.
The S-76 w ...
, crashed into the sea near Tallinn, Estonia, three to four minutes after taking off. The craft was carrying 14 people, all of whom were killed: six
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
, four
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
and two American passengers, and two Finnish crew members. The disaster was caused by the failure of the power steering system of the American-built helicopter. According to Estonian authorities, no
distress signal
A distress signal, also known as a distress call, is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a soun ...
s of any kind were received. However, after examining the helicopter's
black box
In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...
it has been reported that the pilots had attempted sending one, but wasn't received because an air traffic controller in Tallinn Airport was reading back a landing permit. The black box also revealed that the pilots had remained calm and attempted a safe landing in a "by the book" fashion.
The cause of the accident was the failure of the power flying control system.
Plasma coating on the pistons of the power flying control system had flaked off and blocked the return valve, causing the aircraft to lose its maneuverability. It was revealed in 2007 that the failed component was inside a system that Copterline did not have the authority to service or even open. A periodic leak test that could have revealed the problem was omitted. Furthermore, the emergency floats failed to operate. The manufacturer,
Sikorsky, confirmed that damages have been paid to the families of the casualties, but a court case between Copterline and Sikorsky is still pending.
Fleet
![Copterline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Copterline.jpg)
The Copterline fleet consists of nine helicopters and several rescue craft.
Copterline uses four
Eurocopter EC 135
The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...
helicopters for emergency and medical service operations from three different base:
Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
, Pete got moved from
Vaasa
Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas), to
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
and
Varkaus
Varkaus (before year 1929 ''Warkaus'') is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna.
T ...
.
References
External links
{{Coord, 60, 08, 52, N, 024, 55, 28, E, type:landmark_region:FI-ES, display=title
Defunct airlines of Finland
Airlines established in 1990
Airlines disestablished in 2010
Finnish companies established in 1990
2010 disestablishments in Finland
Defunct helicopter airlines
Transport in Tallinn
Transport in Helsinki