Helicopters to the Rescue


Once someone has been spotted using a drone or drones in search mode, helicopters are usually called in to rescue them (unless some sort of drive-in rescue is possible and fast enough). This is because there is no substitute for the payload capacity of a helicopter for rescuing victims, nor for the hoisting and emergency medical expertise of the professionals on board. This is true even for North Shore Rescue. “We work with Vancouver’s Talon Helicopters; they have a fleet of Airbus helicopters,” Baldwin said. “When they come in to do the rescue, that’s where our job ends.”


70 July/Aug 2024


The fact is that helicopters are as well suited to rescues as drones are to searches. This is why Bell’s Miyauchi isn’t concerned about drones displacing humans in aerial SAR. “Drones are having an incredibly positive impact on airborne public safety as a whole, to include SAR operations,” he said. “Whereas not long ago, drones were seen as a potential threat to manned public safety helicopter programs, they have proven to be anything but. As advantageous as the manned platform is, there are also several gaps in ability due to numerous constraints, from geographic positioning to fleet bandwidth. Drones have done an incredible job of helping to close those gaps.”


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