DAP Helicópteros is a helicopter operator based in

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Are ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It operates scheduled and charter services in the southern

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

area, and also operates flights on behalf of the state-owned oil company, ENAP. Its main base is

Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Presidente Carlos Ibáñez) is an airport serving the city of Punta Arenas in southern Chile in the Patagonia region of South America. The airport is shared with the ...

. The ambulance fleet covers most of the country.

History

The airline is the helicopter division of

Aerovías DAP DAP is a Chilean airline that operates charter and schedule flights, with its base in Punta Arenas, Chile. The DAP group is a consortium formed by Aerovías DAP, AeroRescate, Antarctic Airways, DAP Antarctica, DAP Helicópteros and Mineral Airway ...

, which was established in 1979 and is wholly owned by the Pivcevic family. "DAP" is the acronym of its creator, Domingo Andrés Pivcevic, a Punta Arenas businessman.

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's old ...

27 March 2007 DAP Helicopteros has a clear record of 95,000 flown hours without mayor accidents, having provided 8,390 consecutive days with 24-hour service in OffShore and EMS. DAP has a high safety standard and has been audited by Aviateq and BARS standards for mining services. This was the first rotor wing company in Chile to present SMS (safety management system) program to the local DGAC. This company is known for having the best safety records in Chile and has been recognized as an AS355F "Reference fleet" by Eurocopter.

Fleet

DAP Helicópteros' fleet comprises: * 4

Eurocopter AS355 Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence A ...

F Twinstar for off-shore petrol ops * 5 MBB Bo 105CB-4 for

Emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

operations; three based at Santiago-Lo Aguirre helipad and one based at

and one in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

* 4 Eurocopter BO105CBS EMS equipes and certify as air ambulance; the first in Chile * 1 Eurocopter EC-135 (to be operated by DAP Helicópteros Argentina SA) * 1 Eurocopter AS350B3 for mining services in the north of Chile The recent agreement between DAP and Chile's oil Company (ENAP, Empresa Nacional del Petróleo) implied the renovation of the helicopters currently in use.

External links

DAP Helicópteros

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dap Helicopteros Airlines of Chile Airlines established in 1989 Helicopter airlines Chilean companies established in 1989