QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands |
3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 31, 2015 |
Sep. 30, 2015 |
Jun. 30, 2015 |
Mar. 31, 2015 |
Dec. 31, 2014 |
Sep. 30, 2014 |
Jun. 30, 2014 |
Mar. 31, 2014 |
Dec. 31, 2015 |
Dec. 31, 2014 |
Dec. 31, 2013 |
|
| Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||
| Revenues, net | $ 60,906 | $ 101,133 | $ 69,319 | $ 66,162 | $ 73,202 | $ 118,338 | $ 80,885 | $ 74,184 | $ 297,520 | $ 346,609 | $ 318,221 |
| Gross profit | 5,125 | 33,044 | 7,732 | 1,374 | 12,488 | 47,496 | 13,384 | 7,526 | 47,275 | 80,894 | 94,190 |
| Net income (loss) | (16,661) | 15,351 | (10,239) | (75,083) | (2,485) | 16,941 | (17,162) | (7,525) | (86,632) | (10,231) | 9,866 |
| Net income (loss) attributable to Erickson Incorporated | $ (16,696) | $ 15,074 | $ (10,121) | $ (74,970) | $ (2,451) | $ 16,862 | $ (17,109) | $ (7,594) | (86,713) | (10,292) | 9,657 |
| Earnings (loss) per share - basic and diluted (in dollars per share) | $ (1.21) | $ 1.09 | $ (0.73) | $ (5.42) | $ (0.18) | $ 1.22 | $ (1.24) | $ (0.55) | |||
| Impairment of goodwill | $ 49,800 | $ 21,300 | 49,823 | 21,272 | 0 | ||||||
| Impairment of other assets | $ 8,100 | $ 7,100 | $ 15,236 | $ 0 | $ 0 | ||||||