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APSA's E-Newsletter is designed to help keep you informed on the very latest information in the airborne law enforcement industry. The E-Newsletter may also be read online here at our website. Joint ABLE Program Grounded
Approximately 75 people attended a going-away party at the hangar last month. Years worth of ABLE relics were in the hangar, including vintage photos that depicted highlights of the helicopter service in the two cities (each had their own unit before merging). Words of encouragement were said and members of the ABLE team were told to leave the program with their heads held high, knowing they served their communities well, said Lt. Tom Fischbacher. Both cities will begin contracting police helicopter services with the Huntington Beach (CA) Police Department. SOURCE: www.dailypilot.com Officers Saved From Niagara Brink
"They could hear the falls, they could see the falls, they could smell the falls," helicopter pilot Ruedi Hafen said to reporters. "It was a desperate situation for them." Law enforcement officials on both sides of the border who were monitoring the drama decided to activate the short haul rescue program. The officers were hoisted to safety by a Canadian rescue helicopter nearly five hours later. "They were snow white, like a bed sheet," Hafen said. "If the anchor would have let go, they would have had no chance. They would have gone over. Such a little boat, such a big anchor. That saved their lives." SOURCE: http://www.nydailynews.com APSA's Annual Conference Lineup Full Of Unique Learning Opportunities This Month!
APSA will conduct eight in-depth Pre-Conference Courses and 40 educational classes during the week of July 18-21, 2011 – all created specifically for the public safety aviation professional. Registration is affordable and easy – and a fantastic value! Join us in New Orleans. Register at http://archives.alea.org/events/Annual-Conference.
Grants and Federal Funding Support Aviation Program
That support takes several forms, Cavallero added, including surveillance and searches. From fiscal year 2009-10 to fiscal year 2010-11, the department's two airplanes and two helicopters that make up the aviation unit have been used 219 times. Cavallero said, "None of our aviation assets were acquired with county funds and it's not supported by county funds -- it's all grants and asset forfeiture." Sheriff's department management has maintained funding for the aviation fleet despite severe cutbacks at both the state and local level. Funding the sheriff's department gets for its aviation unit can't be used for personnel. Source: www.mercedsunstar.com San Antonio Police Form Special Helicopter Rescue Unit
COSA HELO Team is made up of the San Antonio Fire Department's Medical Special Operations Unit, rescue swimmers, and the San Antonio Police Department's Blue Eagle Helicopter Detail, which consists of pilots and crew chiefs. The helicopter will be sent out through the request of officers on scene or 911 dispatchers, and will be most frequently used in high-rise or roof top situations as well as high-water rescues. Source: www.kens5.com/news Helicopter Rescue Training For Shanghai Police
ARS, utilizing MD aircraft, has completed more than 1,100 flight hours of advanced helicopter operations and rescue training with the SPAF. These eight graduates join the officers trained in 2010 and now serve as the front line, protecting the 19 million inhabitants located in and around the City of Shanghai, China from high-rise fire, floods and other natural and manmade disasters. Source: www.rotor.com Agusta Purchases Bell's Stake of BA609 Aircraft
Announced in 1996, the 609 was originally to be a partnership between Boeing and Bell. After Boeing withdrew from the program, Bell and Agusta formed the Bell/Agusta Aircraft Company in 1998 to develop the 609 as a joint venture. Bell's Garrison hinted that the resource demands of the company's other programs drove it to divest itself of the BA609. "This decision is going to allow Bell to increase our investment on the revolutionary V-22 and to develop the next-generation tilt rotor technologies for U.S. Department of Defense programs and other applications, as well as to increase our investment in our innovative commercial product line." Source: http://www.ainonline.com APSA Exhibits At NSA Conference
Although several sheriffs thought they could never afford a helicopter, they were informed of the benefits of airborne law enforcement and the various options available to them, such as aircraft from allied agencies, state police, Air National Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, etc. Procedures on how to utilize those assets were explained. Visitors were also made aware that many agencies are now looking toward light sport aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles as affordable options for public safety aviation. During the Special Operations Committee meeting, a presentation was given about APSA member benefits as well as a briefing on recent NTSB investigations involving police aircraft crashes and single-pilot operations. Source: APSA Poker Run Benefits Onondaga County's Helicopter
Participants of the poker run went on a route to fire departments at Baldwinsville, South Bay, Manlius, Tully and Skaneateles at a cost of $30 per driver, where they picked up cards to make a poker hand, with the best hand winning a cash prize. Western Area Volunteer Emergency Service, which provides paramedics for the Air 1 helicopter, organized the event. Visit www.Air1Foundation.org for the latest updates. SOURCE: www.syracuse.com
Sheriff's Helicopter Rescues Kayaker
Hanging from a long-line from the helicopter, a paramedic extracted the kayaker, bringing him back to shore where he was turned over to fire and medical crews. He was unharmed. In April, two people died in two days while abalone diving off the Sonoma County coast. Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com
Three More EC135s Ordered For French Police
As Chief Daniel Leimbacher (Groupement Central des Forces Aériennes de la Gendarmerie) said, “The capability to transmit images of the ground observed from the EC135 is of paramount interest, as recently shown during the G8 summit, during which four EC135s logged more than 100 flying hours to protect the area†The EC135s ordered to date for the Gendarmerie are to strengthen its rotary-wing inventory and eventually will replace the police force's single-engine Ecureuil helicopters, which have been operating since 1980. Source: Eurocopter South African Force Adds Capability
"The AS350 B3 provides a very efficient law enforcement solution in our daily operations," said the official representative of the Angola National Police Force. Angola is twice the size of Texas, with over 3,000 miles of land boundaries and 1,000 miles along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. The AS350 B3s joins the Helicopter Unit's growing and exclusively Eurocopter fleet, which currently includes six Dauphin AS365 N2s (with emergency medical service capabilities) and 15 AS350 B2/B3s used primarily for surveillance missions. The national police force's Helicopter Unit was created in 1992, initially to provide additional security during the country's first multi-party elections. Since, it has played an integral role in crime prevention and law enforcement in the country, especially since the end of the civil war in 2002. Source: http://www.ktvu.com Chicago Police Helicopter Hit By Laser
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com
Texas Wants More UAS for Mexico Border Surveillance Two congressional lawmakers from Texas, Henry Cuellar and Michael McCaul, want more aerial surveillance above the Texas-Mexico border. There are currently four UAS assigned to the southern border: three are based in Arizona and one based in Corpus Christi, TX. These lawmakers say that while Arizona shares less than 400 miles of border with Mexico, Texas has about three times the area to cover. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano last month, the congressmen urged the agency to station the two UAVs requested in Texas. Two UAS on order are to be delivered at the end of the year. The high-tech systems would support the National Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement. Source: http://www.krgv.com Indiana Police Call In UAS In Missing Person Search
More than 500 people, creating more than 50 search parties, joined in the hunt for the 20-year-old student who has been missing since June 3. And despite the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and professional searchers like Robinson, she still remains missing. SOURCE: WTHR Indianapolis
Australian Agency Takes Delivery Of New Aircraft
The crew is undergoing final training and certification. PolAir 4, expected to be fully operational in a few months, has two engines, making it safer because it is able to run on a single engine if one fails. The aircraft will be used for search and rescue, missing person searches and other missions. SOURCE: www.news.ninemsn.com.au Equipment Chosen For New Aircraft in Virginia
The DVCS6100 was chosen by Fairfax County police due to its unique ability to effectively manage and control all audio sources in the helicopter and include the array of tactical frequencies required by their mission. The DVCS6100 manages all transceivers, receivers and audio warning sources in one central system and provides simulcast capabilities on eight channels. Becker's digital multichannel audio and intercom system, with its software configurable profiles, provides the flexibility to specifically customize the system to meet the demanding multi-role operational requirements of Fairfax County. Source: Becker Avionics
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As of June 30, the hangar that was home to Airborne Law Enforcement Services' (ABLE) has become a storage space for the unit's three EC120 helicopters. ABLE was jointly owned by Costa Mesa (CA) Police Department and Newport Beach (CA) Police Department. Both cities have dismantled the shared police helicopter program, thus ending a 15-year partnership to save money and implement leaner budgets.
Two New York State Park Police officers became stranded in their boat near the brink of Niagara Falls last month. The pair got turned around after rescuing a group of five teenagers whose boat had become stranded on Niagara River at around 2 a.m. Navigating the rushing tides in pre-dawn darkness and heavy fog, the duo lost their way and became stuck on some rocks about 200 yards from the fall's crest.
Technology, management, aviation safety, regulatory issues, training, tactics and budgets are all components of public safety aviation. It is more important than ever for police aviation professionals to stay up-to-date with their continuing education. There is no better place to do so than APSA's upcoming conference and exposition in New Orleans this month.
Even though there have been county layoffs and departmental cutbacks, one area that hasn't been slashed in the Merced County (CA) Sheriff's Department's budget is its aviation fleet. All the expenses for the last two years were offset by various grants and federal funding, said Undersheriff Tom Cavallero. The primary function of the aviation unit is to provide support to "people doing the job on the ground," he said.
For the first time in the city's history, San Antonio (TX) Police Department officers and firefighters have joined forces and formed a special helicopter rescue unit. The unit, called COSA HELO Team, has been training together for the last two years performing all different types of land and water rescue operations.
Air Rescue Systems (ARS) graduated the second Shanghai Police Aviation Force (SPAF) class from its advanced helicopter operations/rescue school last month. Five pilots and three rescue crewmembers spent 70 days, completing 560 flight hours at the ARS flight training facility in Ashland, OR. The ARS instructor cadre challenged the SPAF officers with an intensive, scenario-based training curriculum which included the practical application of vertical reference flying, search and rescue, external load delivery, firefighting, urban and roof-top operations, mountain flying, hoist rescue and short haul. The rescue crewmembers were also taught CPR, advanced first aid, victim packaging and complex victim extraction techniques.
AgustaWestland is purchasing full ownership of the BA609 civil tilt rotor program from Bell Helicopter. AW's new CEO, Bruno Spagnolini, and Bell CEO John Garrison announced the deal at the Paris Air Show on June 21. Under the proposed agreement, subject to regulatory approval, Bell Helicopter will continue to provide engineering, program management services and key component manufacturer. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The St. Louis (MO) City Sheriff's Department was the host of this year's National Sheriff's Association (NSA) 71st Annual Conference and Exposition held in St. Louis, MO last month. The weeklong event was attended by approximately 3,500 sheriffs, officers and law enforcement officials. APSA was proud to return to the NSA conference as an exhibitor, one of approximately 500 in attendance. President Martin L. Jackson, Vice President Kevin Caffery and Eastern Region Director Kurt Frisz spread the APSA message.
Onondaga County residents turned out in great numbers last month to show support for the newly established Air 1 Foundation. The Air 1 Poker Run raised money for the Onondaga County (NY) Sheriff's Office Aviation Program. The aviation unit is in danger of being eliminated, but leaders were able to secure funding through the end of the year.
An abalone diver kayaking off Sonoma County, California's coast was rescued last month after rough currents and high winds swept him two miles out to sea. Rescuers from both the U. S. Coast Guard and the Sonoma County (CA) Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit responded. Henry 1, the sheriff's helicopter, arrived first.
The French Gendarmerie Police Force will acquire three additional EC135 helicopters in a deal made last month. Eurocopter will continue its support services for the police force's current 12 EC135s through an extension of the existing contract. This new acquisition agreement will provide an incremental expansion of the Gendarmerie's multi-role, twin-engine EC135 fleet, which is used for police and medical evacuation missions.
The Angolan National Police Force received an A-Star delivery last month, completing its order for ten Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopters, bolstering the airborne law enforcement capability of the southern African nation.
Three Chicago men face misdemeanor charges of pointing a laser beam at a Chicago (IL) Police Department helicopter last month. The flight crew, which included Chicago Police Department and Cook County Sheriff's Office personnel, was able to use night vision goggles to pinpoint where the laser was coming from and sent ground officers to the location. The three men were arrested and are scheduled to appear in Cook County Court on August 1.
Last month, UAS operator Gene Robinson helped police search in hidden areas for missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer. In the 10 minutes the drone flew, investigators took 50 pictures that would not have been otherwise available from an abandoned limestone quarry 10 miles south of Bloomington, IN. Until the UAS helped, that had been a blind spot for search crews.
PolAir 4, the latest addition to the New South Wales Police Force Aviation Support Branch, will be one of only a handful of its kind in use in Australia. "This truly is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment with technology that will enable our police to do their jobs more efficiently and more effectively," Police Minister Michael Gallacher said at the launch of the EC135 P2+ last month.
The Fairfax County (VA) Police Department Helicopter Division will integrate Becker Avionics' DVCS6100 digital audio system into their new Bell 429 helicopter. Their new aircraft is currently undergoing completion and expected to be in service by the end of the summer.
