A rare variant of the Sikorsky 76A, originally from Hong Kong, has recently departed Italy and passed through the UK, on its way to the USA.

Helitalia, a subsidiary of UK company Bristow Helicopters, bought the aircraft in 1996 for use in Italy, supporting offshore oil rigs in the Adriatic. When the contract for the aircraft's work was finished, the helicopter was registered in the UK, according to Helitalia's Gianluigi Gino, director of operations.

A source at Bristow Helicopters talked to EBAN about the helicopter, which he described as "oddball".

"It has got a 76C gearbox with Arrial engines in it, so it is in fact a 76A(+), because it is neither one nor the other. Only a few Sikorskys were made that way, it was a requirement of the initial customer. It has got a sliding door on either side of the body so that people can be winched down either side," he said.

"We bought it in Hong Kong, where it was working for the coastguard in search and rescue; then it went to Italy. That aircraft, as we speak, is on the high seas, on its way to our sister company in the States. We've got three more in the hangar.

"It has been de-registered, at the moment it is in limbo, and will be put on the US register when it arrives."

The Sikorsky 76A(+) will take another offshore role in the Gulf of Mexico, for oil rigs near Louisiana. Helitalia continues to operate a fleet of Eurocopter BK 117 and Agusta 109 helicopters for EMS and offshore work, and the occasional corporate charter mission.