The Public Prosecution Service (OM) Noord-Holland has decided to put a line through the criminal investigation into Heli Holland (with branches in Den Helder and Emmer-Compascuum). The OM has decided to dismiss the things against the company, the owner and a manager for insufficient evidence. The case against another employee had already been stopped, when research showed that there was no suspicion against her anymore.
The investigation into the aviation company, which lasted almost two years, started in 2023 after it became clear from inspections that, among other things, non-certified parts would have been used, and parts for which the lifespan would have been exceeded.
This would have been covered with false certificates. Furthermore, the maintenance would sometimes have been done by engineers without the correct license and maintenance reports were sometimes signed without the work.
That resulted in the suspicion of forgery and poor maintenance. It was mainly about one helicopter from the company, which was seized after a raid in 2023.
A team of experts then investigated the helicopter’s administration, but found nothing concrete after one and a half months. Heli Holland then received the plane back.
What remained standing was the doubt of the airworthiness of the helicopter during two flights at the end of 2022 based on European rules.
The OM wanted the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) to investigate the shortcomings, but this was rejected by the judge. He thought that the ILT was not independent enough to answer the questions from the OM.
The OM then decided to leave it in with a view to the passage of time and the fact that no new shortcomings have emerged from various inspections.
Without the explanation of the inspection, there is insufficient certainty about the application of the European rules, according to the OM. On which the conclusion was drawn that there is insufficient evidence for the suspicions.
Director René van der Haring announced that he would not want to respond to substantive. “We are still reflecting on a response. We may come out with a message later today.”