Sikorsky is increasing the scheduled inspection intervals for S-92 helicopters from 375 flight hours to 500 hours, and from 750 flight hours to 1,000 hours.

This enhancement will eliminate more than a full year of downtime caused by inspections, as S-92 operators will now be relieved of the requirement to conduct up to 30 inspections over the course of the aircraft’s 30,000 flight hour lifespan. By leveraging 20 years’ worth of maintenance data collected from more than 300 aircraft and 2.4 million flight hours, Sikorsky has developed a methodology to safely and confidently allow continued fleet operation beyond the current limits. The maintenance data was supplied to and jointly analysed by the S-92 Maintenance Review Steering Group, a composition of the world’s largest S-92 fleet operators who actively collaborate to enhance aircraft safety and reliability.

“Increasing inspection intervals for the S-92 is a major victory for operators striving to mitigate downtime and maximise fleet availability, and a testament of the commitment to safety and innovation that Sikorsky champions,” says Leon Silva, vice president of Sikorsky’s global commercial and military systems. “This is yet another example of Sikorsky’s continued investment in the S-92 platform, and we are thrilled to see it help customers perform against some of the biggest challenges in the world.”

This comes on the heels of other significant breakthroughs in innovation and technology that enable customers to mitigate downtime and maximise operational readiness for the fleet. In September 2024, the company received FAA certification to offer a one-time life extension for specific main gear box housings on its S-92s. By more accurately determining the life-limit for parts, average S-92 offshore oil operators are able to keep gear boxes in service for an additional 12-18 months, and other operators for more than an additional 24 months.

In late 2023, the FAA approved the first component life extension using Sikorsky’s LifePlus technology on the S-92’s main rotor hub, raising the retirement time from 9,000 hours to 15,000 hours or 45,000 ground-air-ground cycles.