AgustaWestland Delivers First GrandNew To A U.S. Customer

AgustaWestland announced Wednesday that Intermountain Healthcare has taken delivery of the first of five GrandNew helicopters. The aircraft is both the first of its kind to be completed in Philadelphia with an EMS configuration, and the first to enter operations with a U.S. customer. The GrandNew will be operated by Intermountain Life Flight, Intermountain Healthcare’s aviation division. The aircraft will join two A109 K2’s already in service performing critical medical evacuation missions in Utah and Northern Nevada.

"We are thrilled to deliver the first GrandNew in the United States to Intermountain Healthcare," said Louis Bartolotta, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales, North America, “The GrandNew is an outstanding helicopter, perfectly suited to be operated by such an exceptional customer. With this advanced technology aircraft, Intermountain Healthcare will expand their service envelope, providing increased emergency response capability to the communities that they serve.”

"The GrandNew is an exceptional aircraft and we are pleased to be the first U.S. based operator. We are looking forward to introducing the aircraft in St. George and ultimately as a replacement for the entire fleet," said Jerry Morrison, Executive Director, Intermountain Life Flight.

Intermountain Healthcare’s GrandNew is equipped with a modern, comprehensive EMS interior featuring single and dual stretcher configurations, wire strike protection, snow skis and night vision goggle compatibility. The GrandNew, unveiled in 2009, offers Synthetic Vision System (SVS), Highway in The Sky (HITS) and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (HTAWS) to provide realistic obstacle awareness in low visibility, three dimensional guidance and detailed terrain maps.

FMI: www.agustawestland.com, http://intermountainhealthcare.org