Arkansas Children's Hospital Accepts Delivery of 1st Sikorsky S-76D Helicopters

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced today it has delivered two S-76D™ helicopters for air medical transportation to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  The announcement was made at the 2015 Air Medical Transport Conference. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

The new aircraft join two S-76C+™ helicopters already flying the Angel One® team as it performs life-saving missions every day throughout the greater Arkansas region. These Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopters have been active since 2002, responding to critical calls to transport young children including infants to the hospital for the unique care it provides.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s new S-76D aircraft are outfitted with the latest technologies including:

• Accommodations for 2 pilots, 4 medical crew and 2 patients
• Comprehensive medical suite including dual isolette/litter system, LOX & medical gases and patient monitoring systems
• Night vision goggle (NVG) technology including patient care cabin and glass cockpit
• Sliding cabin doors and enlarged cabin windows
• Long Range Cruise Air Speed of 152 knots/174 mph
• Single and dual pilot Instrument Flight Rules Configured  

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer David Berry sees the helicopters as crucial to the hospital’s lifesaving mission of championing children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow. “We are thrilled to upgrade our existing fleet with the latest technology in the industry,” said Berry. “The new S-76D helicopters, with their speed, payload and range, will continue supporting as the connective tissue for serving our patients and families as we develop our statewide network of care.”

Located in Little Rock, Arkansas Children’s Hospital coordinates with a network of local hospitals that depend on Arkansas Children’s Hospital to respond to cases that require an expertise in infant and child medical care.

Sikorsky has now completed S-76D deliveries into all mission segments including offshore oil, search and rescue, VIP and air medical transportation.  Sikorsky has delivered more than 800 S-76® helicopters to customers globally since 1979, contributing daily to a growing number of more than 6.7 million flight hours.

The new generation S-76D helicopter, through its application of modern technologies, is designed to provide a substantial increase in performance, power and value. The S-76D helicopter’s baseline equipment includes powerful and efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines; an advanced THALES TopDeck® integrated avionics system and four-axis autopilot; Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) incorporated into fleet monitoring and analysis; active vibration control; and all-composite, flaw-tolerant main rotor blades.