BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

In the matter of the cancellation of the 

Air Taxi authority issued to: Docket DOT -OST -2012-0022 

VIH COUGAR HELICOPTERS, INC. 

MOTION OF VIH COUGAR HELICOPTERS, INC. 

TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE 

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to: 

David M. Nadler 

David Y. Yang 

Andrew E. Smith 

DICKSTEIN SHAPIRO LLP 

1825 Eye Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20006 

Telephone: (202) 420-2200 

Facsimile: (202) 420-2201 

nadlerd@dicksteinshapiro.com 

yangd@dicksteinshapiro. com 

smitha@dicksteinshapiro .com 

Counsel to VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. 

Dated: April2, 2012 

DSMDB-3045450vl 
BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

In the matter of the cancellation of the 

Air Taxi authority issued to: Docket DOT -OST -2012-0022 

VIH COUGAR HELICOPTERS, INC. 

MOTION OF VIH COUGAR HELICOPTERS, INC. 

TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE 

Pursuant to Rule 12 of the Rules of Practice (14 C.P.R.§ 302.12) for the Department of 

Transportation ("Department"), VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. ("VIH Cougar"), by and through 

the undersigned counsel, hereby moves to withhold from public disclosure the un-redacted VIH 

Cougar, Inc. Motion to Stay The Department of Transportation's March 12, 2012 Show Cause 

Order and supporting exhibits, which include confidential commercial and personal information 

that is exempt from public disclosure pursuant to the Freedom oflnformation Act, 5 U.S.C. 

§ 552, the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1905, and all other applicable statutory and regulatory 

prohibitions against the public disclosure of sensitive, non-public information. Redacted 

versions of these items were filed today with the Department of Transportation Docketing Office 

for inclusion onto Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0022. 

In addition, as asserted in our pending motion, 1 the terms and conditions presently 

provided by the Department for the treatment of VIH Cougar confidential information are 

1 See Motion of VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. Objecting to the Public Release of Confidential 

Information and the Release of Such Information to Counsel and Outside Experts of Interested 

Parties Pursuant to the Terms Proposed in the March 12, 2012 Show Cause Order, dated March 

16, 2012. 

DSMDB-3045450vl 
entirely inadequate for safeguarding VIH Cougar's proprietary interests. Indeed, these 

deficiencies already have been demonstrated by the unauthorized and illegal release of 

VIH Cougar confidential information to eounsel for Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. ("PHI"), a direct 

competitor, in violation of the agency's insufficient procedures. See Mar. 29, 2012 Ltr. from 

DOT to Jonathan Blank, counsel for PHI, attached hereto as Exhibit 1; see also Mar. 30, 2012 

Ltr. from VIH Cougar to DOT, attached hereto as Exhibit 2. 

As VIH Cougar has asserted, the Department's present procedures fall short of widelyaccepted federal standards (such as those required by bid protest protective orders issued by the 

U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO")) for protecting business-sensitive information 

in similar contexts. In light of the egregious confidentiality breaches that already have occurred 

with respect to a competitor's counsel's unauthorized access to VIH Cougar protected material, 

any further release of VIH Cougar confidential information to any counsel and/or outside experts 

in the course of these proceedings must be subject to processes and safeguards that require at 

least the same rigor as those found in GAO bid protest protective orders, particularly with respect 

to their provision for enhanced oversight and penalties for violations. 

Dated: April 2, 2012 

By: 

2 

David Y. Yang 

Andrew E. Smith 

DICKSTEIN SH 

1825 Eye Street, 

Washington, DC 20006 

Telephone: (202) 420-2200 

Facsimile: (202) 420-2201 

nadlerd@dicksteinshapiro. com 

yangd@dicksteinshapiro.com 

smitha@dicksteinshapiro.com 

Counsel to VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. 

DSMDB-3045450vl 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I certify that I have on this 2nd day of April 2012 served the foregoing motion of VIH Cougar 

Helicopters, Inc. upon the persons listed below: 

Susan L. Kurland 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Room W96-495 

Washington, DC 20590 

Lauralyn Remo 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Room W96-495 

Washington, DC 20590 

Docket DOT-OST-2012-0022 

Department of Transportation Dockets 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Room W12-140 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Peter Lynch, AGC-300 

Asst. Chief Counsel for Enforcement 

Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Ave. SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

William J. Weber 

Certification Section Manager 

FAA AFS-900 

45005 Aviation Drive Suite 131 

Dulles, VA 20 166 

Roy Hardie 

Aviation Safety Inspector 

Federal Aviation Administration 

1601 Lind Avenue SW, Suite 260 

Renton, W A 98057 

Andrew E. Smith 

3 

DSMDB-3045450v I 
EXHIBIT 1 
2023668536 W94-122c 

u.s. Deportment of 

Transportation 

OffiCe of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

By Facsimile 

Jonathan Blank, Esq. 

K & L Gates LLP 

160 I K Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20006-1600 

GENERAL COUNSEL 

March 29, 2012 

04:30:20 p.m. 03-29-2012 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, Sf 

Wo~hington, DC 20590 

Re: VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc., Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0022 

Dear Mr. Blank: 

On March 12,2012, the Department of.Transportation (Department) issued Order 2012-3-

7 tentatively finding that VIH Cougar Helicopters (VIH Cougar) is not a U.S. citizen as 

defined in 49 U.S.C. Section 40102 (a)(15). Among other things, that Order specifically 

provides that interim access to documents provided by VIH Cougar Helicopters will be 

granted to counsel for interested parties who file affidavits in advance until such time as we 

have received and ruled upon a motion to withhold information from public disclosure. 

We understand that on March 23,2012, you appeared at the Department's Dockets Office 

and were given access to information marked confidential in the VIH Cougar 

administrative proceeding referenced above. Pursuant to 14 CFR Section 302.12(d)(3) of 

the Department's rules of practice, and the Department's March 12,2012 Order to Show 

Cause in this proceeding, such access was prohibited absent the filing of an appropriate 

affidavit in advance as described in that Order. 

On March 27,2012, you filed a Reply Of Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI) To Motion Of 

VIH Cougar Helicopters Objecting To Access Of Counsel To Confidential Material. In 

that document, you state that you filed the required affidavit on March 23, 2012. Your 

affidavit, however, does not appear in the docket of this proceeding. Subsequently, on 

March 28,2012, you filed an entry of appearance on behalf of yourself and two other 

attorneys representing PHI. While each of them has now filed an affidavit as required by 

Order 2012-3-7 and our rules, your affidavit still does not appear in the docket of this 

proceeding. 

2/3 
2023668536 W94-122c 04:30:43 p.m. 03-29-2012 

Under these circumstances, the Department expects that you will immediately file (or 

refile) the required affidavit, and will strictly adhere to the prohibitions on use and 

disclosure of information marked confidential in this proceeding, including material you 

may have been given access to prior to the filing of your affidavit, as required in our rules 

of practice and the March 12, 2012 Order. 

cc: Docket DOT-OST-2012-0022 

David M. Nadler, Esq. 

DICKSTEIN SHAPIRO LLP 

1825 Eye Street, NW 

Washington, D.C. 20006 

Rosalind A. Knapp 

Deputy General Counsel 

2 

3/3 
EXHIBIT 2 
DICKSTEINSHAPI ROuP 

1825 Eye Street NW I Washington, DC 20006-5403 

TEL (202) 420-2200 I FAX (202) 420-2201 I dicksteinshapiro.com 

March 30, 2012 

Via E-maillindy.knapp@dot.gov 

Via Facsimile (202) 366-9151 

Rosalind A. Knapp 

Deputy General Counsel 

Office of the General Counsel 

U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the 

Secretary 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

C-60, Room W96-120 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. 

Docket NO. DOT-OST-2012-0022 

Dear Ms. Knapp: 

We write on behalf ofVIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. ("VIH Cougar") in response to your March 

29, 2012letter to counsel for Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. ("PHI"), a direct competitor ofVIH 

Cougar. 

The letter's revelations about PHI's prohibited conduct and the Department's inability to keep 

VIH Cougar's trade secrets confidential are very troubling. PHI knew what the prohibitions in 

the Department's rules and the Order to Show Cause were, and what further disclosure 

protections VIH Cougar sought in its pending Motion. 1 PHI nonetheless showed up at the 

Department's Docket Office unannounced, and without having filed an appropriate affidavit in 

advance as required by the Order to Show Cause, so that neither the Department nor VIH Cougar 

had any prior notice that PHI would gain access to VIH Cougar's confidential information. 

PHI then proceeded to inspect the Department folders containing VIH Cougar's trade secrets for 

the "purpose of determining their extent and the most efficient procedures for their final 

inspection."2 PHI asserts that doing so "compl[ied) in full with the procedures in the 

Motion ofVIH Helicopters, Inc. Objecting to the Public Release of Confidential Information 

and the Release of Such Information to Counsel and Outside Experts of Interested Parties 

Pursuant to the Terms Proposed in the March 12, 2012 Show Cause Order. 

2 See Answer ofPetroleum Helicopters, Inc. to Motion ofVIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. for an 

Oral Evidentiary Hearing ("Answer") at p.6 n.5. 

Los Angeles I New York I Orange County I Silicon Valley I Stamford I Washington, DC 

DSMDB-3045134vl 
DICKSTEINSHAPI ROup 

Rosalind A. Knapp 

March 30, 2012 

Page2 

Department's Order to Show Cause for such inspection."3 But, of course, as your letter points 

out, the conduct was not compliant, but prohibited even by the Department's own inadequate 

rules and disclosure protocol, not to mention by the additional procedures VIH Cougar seeks in 

its pending Motion. 4 

Nor, as your letter and PHI's statement also reveal, did the Department take steps to ensure that 

such prohibited conduct would not take place before it did. In fact, the Department facilitated 

the prohibited conduct- turning over VIH Cougar's trade secrets to a company that the 

Department knew was a direct VIH Cougar competitor that instigated these proceedings. 

What makes PHI's and the Department's actions all the more dismaying is that they occurred 

less than a week after VIH Cougar specifically warned the Department about the inadequacy of 

its disclosure safeguards and of the irreparable harm VIH Cougar would suffer if competitors, 

such as PHI, were given access to VIH Cougar's trade secrets. This episode is a prime example 

of why the safeguards VIH Cougar asks the Department to put in place are absolutely essential. 

The Department's inability to follow even its own procedures confirms that the Department 

should immediately implement the procedures detailed in VIH Cougar's Motion to minimize the 

possibility of another improper disclosure. In addition, the Department's actions- which have 

the effect of benefiting a known competitor of VIH Cougar - further demonstrate the need for a 

hearing before an independent Administrative Law Judge. 

The Department also must promptly remedy PHI's prohibited conduct. Until all the facts are 

known, that remedy cannot yet be known. The Department's first order of business, therefore, 

should be to conduct a prompt and full investigation into PHI's conduct. Only then will the 

Department be in a position to decide what sanctions are warranted. 

The Department's first investigative step should be to require PHI to submit a sworn affidavit 

that, at a minimum: 

3 

• lists every person associated with PHI who read anything in the Department VIH 

Cougar folders, and every' person to whom any information in those folders was 

communicated; 

Answer at p.6 n.5. 

4 PHI's March 30 Answer to VIH Cougar's Objections to the Affidavits of John Longstreet, 

Timothy Hobbs, and Winston Chew (at p.2 n.l) seeks to minimize its prohibited conduct by 

asserting that it resulted from an "apparent misunderstanding." But that misses the point of 

protective orders, which are designed to guard against any prohibited access to confidential 

information, deliberate or otherwise. 

DSMDB-3045134vl 
DICKSTEIN S HAP I ROtLP 

Rosalind A. Knapp 

March 30, 2012 

Page3 

• states whether any documents that in any way involve or refer to the contents of 

those folders were generated (in any form including but not limited to handwritten 

notes and e-mails) after the folders were reviewed, and identifies who generated 

them, and who has possession of them; 

• states how much time PHi took in reading the folders at the Department, whether 

anything in the folders was copied or photographed and if so, what, by whom, and 

when; and 

• states whether the contents of the folders were divulged in any form to employees 

of or persons associated with PHI, and if so, what, by whom, and to whom. 

When that investigation is complete, the Department can determine whether sanctions against 

PHI are warranted. Until then, the Department should continue to deny PHI access to VIH 

Cougar's confidential information. 

Finally, we were pleased to learn today that the Department has stayed interim access to VIH 

Cougar's confidential documents, intends to rule expeditiously on VIH Cougar's Motion 

objecting to release of that information, and will rule on VIH Cougar's other pending motions, 

including its request for an evidentiary hearing, in subsequent actions. We urge the Department 

to take the matters detailed in this response into account as part of the Department's decisionmaking process on those motions. 

Sincerely, 

7)~ ((}. TJo.Jk lAGS 

David M. Nadler 

(202) 420-2281 direct dial 

(202) 379-9352 direct fax 

nadlerd@dicksteinshapiro.com 

DMN/cnm 

cc: Jonathan Blank, Esq. 

E-mail: jonathan.blank@klgates.com 

Facsimile: (202) 778-9100 

DSMDB-3045134vl