20 January 2022
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has gone bankrupt and will close on 21 January 2022 after nearly 64 years of production.
The company, based in Menominee, Michigan, delivered its final helicopters, a pair of Enstrom 280FX for the Peru Air Force, in December 2021. Enstrom stopped taking orders for new parts on 7 January 2022. Technical support has also ended.
Enstrom is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chongqing General Aviation Industry Group Co (CGAG), which has yet to make a statement.
“We’ve built more than 1300 helicopters, operated in over 50 countries around the world,” said Enstrom’s Director of Sales & Marketing, Dennis Martin.
“Millions of hours flown, tens of thousands of pilots trained, think of all the lives these aircraft have touched. It’s an incredible legacy, and the people of Northern Michigan and Wisconsin who helped start the company, and especially the hard working employees who kept it going all these years should be proud of what we accomplished.”
Enstrom’s President, Matt Francour, said that multiple groups have already expressed interest in buying Enstrom’s assets out of bankruptcy and restarting the company.
“I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but I have a feeling we’ll be back,” he said.
Founded in 1959, Enstrom designs and produces light single-engine helicopters for various missions including helicopter training, police and wildlife patrol, aerial photography and tours, ag spray and livestock management, and personal transportation.
