Helicopter Pier Scheveningen
JANUARY 2012
In July last year, a fire of unknown cause devastated the Holland Casino in the heart of Scheveningen – probably the best-known of seaside towns, a few kilometres from the seat of the Dutch royal family, The Hague. The first thing you notice on the beach at Scheveningen is the 381 metre-long pier.
Because of the great destruction by the fire, it was decided to demolish the old building. The rubble thus created, classified as hazardous waste, was to be taken by special-purpose vessel for recycling. However, because the water was too shallow, the ship could not approach the jetty.
The solution was a freight helicopter operation. December 2011: rough conditions, strong wind, more than 100 cargo sacks filled with rubble, and a special-purpose vessel, 2000 metres off the coast.
A perfect task for the Sikorsky S‑76 A++ of HeliJet Charter GmbH. With its cargo hook and an average turn-around time of 2 minutes 45 per flight, the pilot was able to move all the rubble onto the ship with high precision in the shortest possible time.
An impressive Dutch video of this can be seen on YouTube.