EASA certifies Dart Aerospace's cargo basket for Bell 505, enhancing mission flexibility and efficiency in last mile logistics.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has certified Dart Aerospace's external cargo basket for the Bell 505 helicopter, reports London's Air Cargo Week.
This approval enables certified external freight operations, expanding mission flexibility and regulatory confidence. Operators can now combine passenger and cargo missions in a single flight, improving utilization and lowering costs.
Helicopters provide critical last mile logistics where fixed-wing aircraft cannot operate, including offshore energy sites, mountainous regions, and disaster zones. External cargo carriage preserves cabin space for personnel while expanding payload versatility.
Certification allows operators to integrate the cargo basket into approved flight operations and maintenance programs. Smaller helicopter firms benefit by diversifying missions without new aircraft investment, thereby strengthening commercial viability.
Applications include Europe's expanding energy infrastructure, where the simultaneous deployment of technicians and equipment reduces downtime. Oil and gas, telecommunications, and remote engineering projects also stand to gain from improved aerial logistics.
Emergency and humanitarian missions will benefit from the rapid deployment of relief supplies while maintaining passenger capacity. Standardized certification enhances safety assurance across multinational response frameworks.
Incremental innovations such as certified cargo baskets improve the productivity of light helicopters like the Bell 505. Compared with larger rotorcraft, they offer cost-effective logistics alternatives for medium-weight missions.
The certification signals a shift in operational philosophy, positioning helicopters as feeders within multimodal supply chains. As logistics networks decentralize, adaptability at the margins becomes a key measure of efficiency.
