C.B.P. News Release

CBP Retires OH-6A 'Loach' Helicopter After 32 Years

(Monday, October 24, 2011)

El Paso, Texas—The OH-6A family of aircraft has flown more than a million hours, supported more than 9.5 million illegal immigrant apprehensions, and contributed to the seizure of more than 500,000 pounds of drugs, and after 32 years of service, the last of the these helicopters in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection fleet has conducted its final flight.

In a ceremony held at the El Paso Air Branch, retired and current pilots gathered together to watch the last flight of the first airframe the U.S. Border Patrol acquired. Before gaining the helicopters in 1979, the OH-6A had already proven itself in the jungles of southeast Asia, and was the perfect airframe for the Border Patrol to gain the high ground.

"The OH-6 served the legacy Border Patrol on a variety of missions, including humanitarian, all along the border," said Assistant Commissioner Michael C. Kostelnik of CBP's Office of Air and Marine. "It was the perfect aircraft for the agents on the ground, and with its 32-year history, it is probably the single aircraft that brought us to where we are today."

The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (nicknamed "Loach", after the requirement acronym LOH - light observation helicopter) was built and developed by the Howard Hughes Tool Company in 1963 as a single-engine light helicopter with a four-bladed main rotor used for personnel transport, escort and attack missions, and observation platform. In 1966, the aircraft set 23 world records for helicopters for speed, endurance and time to climb and was used by the U.S. Army extensively during the Vietnam era.

The Border Patrol received its first OH-6 in El Paso, Texas, during the summer of 1979, after the U.S. Army had withdrawn from Vietnam. The second aircraft arrived at Chula Vista Sector, near San Diego, later that year with the Border Patrol eventually acquiring 42 helicopters, stationing them all along the southwest border. During its service life, the agency's first OH-6 flew more than a million hours in support of border security operations.

“The sound of an OH-6 approaching lifted the spirits of every Border Patrol agent on the line,â€