U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretory 

of Transportation 

\Jr. C. Joy Journcay 

Alaska Air Carriers Association 

2301 MetTill Field Drive. Suite A-J 

Anchorage. Alaska 9950 I 

Dear 1\ I r. J ournca y: 

Assistant Socrotary 

. ; , i_ 

:-larch t9, 2012 

.,,_· 

1200 New Jorsoy Avenuo. SE 

Washington. DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter concerning the U.S. Department of Transportal ion· s ( Depat1mclll) 

citizenship investigation of V Ill Cougar Helicopters. Inc. ( V IH Cougar). 

On March 12. 2012. the Department issued Order 1012-3-7 tentatively tinding that V IH Cougar 

is not a U.S. citizen as defined in41} U.S.C. ~ 40102{a)( 15) and proposing to cancel its air taxi 

Juthority. Interested parties arc provided 21 Jays from the date of its issuance to file objections 

to the Department's tcmativc findings. Access to the docket is available by entering the docket 

number. DOT-OST-20 12-0022. into the simple search function at the Department's Do~..:kct 

Management System (OMS) wchsitc. which is http://www.regulations.gov. 

Finally. since this matter is pending. I am unable to cmnment on the merits of VIH Cougar's 

submissions. I assure you. howc\'cr. that the Department will give full ~..:onsideration to all 

comments on the record in the docket. 

As is our normal practice. I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT -OST -2012-0022 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this proceeding. 

S incercl y yours. 

Susan L. Kurland 

:\ssistJnt SecrctJry for 

,\vi;ltion and International Affairs 

· X1-120314-004 ' 
ALASKA AIR CARRIERS ASSOCIATION 

2301 Merrill Field Drive, Suite A-3 

Anchorage, Alaska 99501 

907-277-0071 907-277-0072 fax 

Board of 

Directors 

2011-2012 

Mike Slednuln. Presld6nt 

ALASKA SEAPLANES 

susan Hoshaw. Vice 

P~nt 

EVERTS AIR ALASKA 

M8ty Hefty. SectetMy 

AlASKA AIRLINES 

Danny SeytJeit Trusurer 

PENAIR 

Jeny Rock. Pnt President 

JANSSEN 

CONTRACnNG CO. 

David 8Q((Jer 

CALEDONIAN 

INSURANCE GROUP. INC. 

Dalllly Davlrfson 

DAVIDSONAVIAnON 

Bob Hojdukovich 

FRONTIER FlYING 

SERVICE. INC. 

C!r1s Mollllews 

WRIGHT AIR SERVICE 

Mike Morgan 

WARBELOWS 

AIR VENTURES 

'MifredRyM 

RYAN AIR 

8tien S8lazBr 

TAQUANAIR 

Jerry WOfl/ey 

AIRSURE. INC. 

Executive 

Director 

C. Joy JOUTIUy 

AlASKA AIR 

CARRIERS 

ASSOCIAOON 

12 February 20 12 

Ms. Susan L Kurland 

Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation & International Affairs 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Via email to susan.kurland@dot.gov; susan.!.kurland@dot.goy; and faac@dot.goy 

SUBJECT: VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc./ Foreign Operators in the U.S. 

Dear Secretary Kurland: 

Petroleum Helicopters, Inc (PHI) challenged the operations of VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. (VIH 

Cougar).in the United States (Alaska, the West Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico). We represent 

certificated air carriers and concur with the sentiments expressed in this letter. 

Since 1966 the Alaska Air Carriers Association (AACA) has represented the interests of aviation 

businesses in Alaska. Our ISO members own, operate, and service aircraft, providing for the needs 

of the traveling public through scheduled commuter operations, aircraft maintenance, flight tours, 

on-demand air charters, fuel sales, parts sales, storage, rental, airline servicing, flight training, and 

emergency medical evacuation. 

In your October 6, 20 II letter to counsel for VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc, (VIH Cougar) 

concerning their status as a Part 298 Air Taxi Operator you cited "overwhelming 

evidence" that VIH Cougar is not in compliance with the requirements of the Federal 

Aviation Act that certificated airline operators be citizens of the United States. 

US air carriers have long maintained and you finally concluded .that although VIH Cougar theoretically 

complies with the numerical ownership requirements of the statute, it is not under the actual control 

of citizens of the United States. You note four reasons, including: 

• the agency relationship of Mr. Steeper by Mr. Nourie, 

• the provision of technical and operational services and equipment by the VIH Group to VIH 

Cougar, 

• contractual relationships among the VIH Group and VIH Cougar, and, 

• tellingly, information discrepancies provided to the Department. 

Additionally, VIH Cougar officials have made public statements revealing that company's Canadian 

ties. Each one of these alone would be grounds for a finding on non-compliance, but together they 

show a premeditated and willful lack of compliance disposition as well as non-citizenship. 

During the entire period of this investigation VIH Cougar has continued to compete unfairly with U.S 

certificated operators. VIH Cougar has been the beneficiary of its illegal relationship with the VIH 

Group at the expense of U.S. companies. Since October 6, 20 II, VIH has continued to do business. 

Existing to fo ~ter and Sllpport a stable commercial m·iation industry founded upon the principles ojsafe~l'. professionalism (I lid langet•i(r 

X1-120314-004 
12 February 20 12 

USDOT. Canadian Operators in the US 

Page two 

While US certificated operators appreciates the Department's very thorough review of the allegations 

against VIH Cougar, we believe that the time has come to stop VIH Cougar's, and other foreign entities, 

lengthy history of flaunting the citizenship requirements and competing unfairly against U.S. citizen 

operators .. As the VIH Group remains in control ofVIH Cougar almost three months after the 

30-day deadline for compliance included in your October 6, 20 II letter, we respectfully 

request that immediate action be taken to bring an end to this illegal situation. 

We urge the Department to move quickly and openly to end this situation, which has gone on 

for several years. VIH Cougar should not be allowed to continue to engage in unlawful 

competition that disadvantages U.S. citizen operators as it delays compliance with U.S. law to 

maximize its ill-gotten gains. VIH Cougar should not be allowed to continue to operate in the United 

States unless it has met the requirements of the Federal Aviation Act that certificated airline operators be 

citizens of the United States. 

The Department's recent Notice of Proposed Policy Clarification for the Registration of 

Aircraft to U.S. Citizen Trustees in Situations Involving Non-U.S. Citizen Trustors and 

Beneficiaries, Federal Register Feb 9, 2012 indicates the serious concern the Department is 

showing with regard to assuring close regulatory oversight of U.S. registered aircraft and 

operations. 

Likewise, in this matter, the operator has persistently evaded statutory requirements for actual citizen 

control. just as the Department is taking action to assure that regulatory oversight on leased 

US registered aircraft is not avoided through complex ownership instruments, the 

Department should move to quickly close down VIH Cougar's evasion of the statute. 

We believe that there is no public policy that can be served any longer by shielding VIH Cougar's citizenship 

status from the public. Having made the preliminary findings based on "overwhelming evidence," we 

respectfully request that the Department bring transparency to any further proceedings in 

this matter. The Department's informal proceedings may have public policy benefits in enabling operators 

to arrange their citizenship affairs privately when they are seeking to comply with the law, but that does not 

apply in this case. Here, VIH Cougar circumvented the law in a calculated manner and did not merely seek 

to ascertain the limits of the citizenship requirements. Instead, it established, and long operated under, an 

egregious scheme which violated the citizenship requirements and engaged in deception to do so. 

As U.S. citizens, we are entitled to transparency and open government in matters of 

regulatory compliance. Any efforts by the Department to ensure that VIH Cougar divests and 

restructures should be open, transparent and public. 

C

~ . Joy journeay, Executive Director 

for J. Michael Stedman, President 

Cc: Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation via email to robert.letteney@doc.gov 

Representative Don Young, via email co scott.leathard@mail.house.gov 

Senator Lisa Murkowski, via email to warren.wright@murkowsl<i.senate.gov 

Senator Mark Begich, via email to james feldman@begich.senate.gov 

Governor Sean Parnell, via email to randall.ruaro@alaska.gQY; russ.kelly@alaska.gov 

: )(1-120314-004-