Story ID: 
Sikorsky S-92 Begins Alaska SAR Mission
By: Mark Huber
Caption: The worldwide fleet of 275 Sikorsky S-92s surpassed one million flight hours earlier this year. 
Word Count: 179
Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky delivered an S-92 heavy twin configured for helicopter EMS and search-and-rescue to North Slope Borough (NSB), Alaska, on Thursday. It is the first S-92 to fly the SAR mission in Alaska.

Located above the Arctic Circle in a particularly harsh climate, NSB is America’s northernmost municipal government, encompassing nearly 95,000 square miles and 6,101 square miles of water across northern Alaska, eight communities and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Wind chill temperatures in winter can fall to -55 deg C.

With 91,000 search-and-rescue missions completed worldwide to date, the S-92 is a proven helicopter that can perform multiple missions in long-range, all-weather operations, according to Sikorsky vice president of commercial systems and services Dana Fiatarone.

The worldwide fleet of 275 S-92s surpassed one million flight hours earlier this year. Eleven nations currently fly the type for their head-of-state mission. In May 2014, the U.S. Navy selected it for the U.S. Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program. That aircraft—the VH-92A—is scheduled to log its first flight next year.