O rder 2014

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation
O n the Eleventh day of March, 2014

Order Denying Motion for Clarification and Docket OST 2012

- 0022
Docket OST 2013

- 0004

Dismissing Formal Complaint Served March 12, 2014

O RDER D ENYING M OTION FOR C LARIFICATION AND D ISMISSING F ORMAL C OMPLAINT

By this order, we dismiss the motion for clarification of Order 2013

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of Order 2013

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- 16 and the evidence presented by the Complainants in t heir formal complaint, the Department has determined that Order 2013

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clear and that there is insufficient evidence to initiate a formal investigation.

The Motion for Clarification

On December 9 , 2013, the Complainants filed a Motion for Clarification of Order 2013

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- 16 , a consent order issued by the Department against VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc., (VIH Cougar) on November 22, 2013

. The consent order found that VIH Cougar violated 14 CFR Part 298 and 49 U.S.C. § 41101 and assessed a civil penalty of $300,000. Specifically, the Complainants requested that the Department provide clarifications on two points. First, Complainants ask whether Order 2013

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The Formal Complaint

In addition, the Complainants requested in their Motion that the Department treat that filing as a formal request for an investigation into VIH Cougar’s transfer of contracts to
CHI and/or CHI’s current operations.

The Complainants are entities that have participated in the Department’s licensing proceedings relating to VIH Cougar, an entity from which they assert they have suffered illegal competition. In the formal complaint, the Complainants first summarize Order
2013

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- 16 , as well as violating 14 CFR Part 2 98 and 49 U.S.C. § 41101, through subterfuge. T he Complainants request that the Department conduct an investigation into VIH Cougar’s transfer of contracts to CHI and/or CHI’s current operations.

Answer of VIH Cougar

In its answer of December 13 , 2013, VIH asserts that the language of Order 2013

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Decision

The Department b elieves that Order 2013

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clarification of that order is unnecessary . The order was the result of a n investigation conducted in accordance with the Department’s standard procedures, and deliberate negotiations between th e named parties . The order took into account all of the availabl e facts surrounding the matter . Therefore, the Department sees no need for the clarification requested by the Complainants. 1

With regard to allegations that CHI is being illegally controlled by a foreign citizen, t he Department has no evidence of prohibited non

- U.S. citizen involvement in the operation of CHI. The Complainants’ Motion similarly contained no evidence of ongoing
violations of Order 2013

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- 16 or of the statutes and r egulations cited therein. As such, the Department dismisses the Complainants’ formal complaint filed in the captioned
dockets.

1 The Department does note that, as with all consent orders, violations occurring after issuance of the order

are not covered under the settlement agreement.3

ACCORDINGLY, pursuant to the authority provided in 14 CFR 302.406 , I dismiss the
motion for clarification of Order 2013

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- 16 and formal complaint of Petroleum Helicopters, Inc., Northern Pioneer Helicopters LLC, and Soloy Helicopters LLC, in
Dockets DOT

- OST

- 2012

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- 2013

- 0004.

BY:

BLANE A. WORKIE Acting Assistant General Counsel for

Aviation Enforcement and P roceedings

An electronic version of this document is available at www.regulations.gov

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