Exhibit 23
  
  Consent of Independent Auditors    
  
  
  
  
  
  The Board of Directors
  Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.:
  
  We consent to incorporation by reference in registration statements No.
  33-51617 on Form S-8 and No. 333-02025 on Form S-8 of Petroleum
  Helicopters, Inc. of our report dated June 19, 1997, relating to the
  consolidated balance sheets of Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. and
  subsidiaries as of April 30, 1997 and 1996, and the related consolidated
  statements of earnings, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of
  the years in the three-year period ended April 30, 1997, and the related
  schedule, which report appears in the April 30, 1997 annual report on
  Form 10-K of Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.
  
  
                          
                                        KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP
                                       /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
  
  New Orleans, Louisiana
  July 23, 1997