DAP Helicópteros is a helicopter operator based in

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It operates scheduled and charter services in the southern

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

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 () 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 Chilean Air Force The Chilean Air Force () is the air ...

. 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 scheduled 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 Airwa ...

, 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'', formerly ''Flight'', 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", i ...

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 AS355F Twinstar for off-shore petrol ops * 5

MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ...

CB-4 for

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

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 (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

* 4 Eurocopter BO105CBS EMS equipes and certify as air ambulance; the first in Chile * 1

Eurocopter EC-135 The Airbus Helicopters H135, formerly Eurocopter EC135, is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic fligh ...

(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