A second initiative being undertaken is the upgrading of the flight following and tracking system. This new system enables voice messaging, an automatic and pilot activated emergency alert feature, pilot voice recording and cockpit video recording. This information including computer flight following and tracking information is four times more accurate than our competitors. The system utilizes computer graphics of earth imagery and tracks the helicopters progress in 30 second intervals by longitude, latitude, altitude, speed, track over surface, flight time up and down and distance travelled. The flight following computer displays small helicopter images to indicate the exact position of the aircraft.

Safety auditors have stated “Phoenix Heli-Flight is to be commended for this effort, especially considering the remoteness of operations around Fort McMurray.”