Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust
The Otago Rescue Helicopter trust is an emergency helicopter service covering the lower
History
The organisation was set up in August 1997 and formed into a trust in the following years. Co-founders were Michael Coburn and Ross Black, with Black being the chairman of the trust until his retirement in March 2019.[3][4]
Equipment
From 2001 to the present, the service operates a single Eurocopter EC 145 (ZK-IWD), an Airbus MBB-BK117 D2 ZK-IDH which is brand new as of jan 2019 (AIR 6) and five twin-engine BK 117 B-2 helicopter, registrations ZK-IWG (Air 1), ZK-HUP (Air 2), ZK-IME (Air 3), ZK-HJK (Air 4), ZK-IWL (Air 5) The helicopter can carry two stretcher patients, cruises at 125 knots (232 km/h), and has a range of 457 km (284 mi) or 909 km (565 mi) with optional fuel tanks. Some of the BK117 aircraft are fitted with a 76 m (249 ft) winch (HUP, sometimes IWG), a 30 million candlepower searchlight, and a neonatal intensive-care incubator. On board the crew has night vision goggles, dual GPS, satellite phone and a range of communications equipment. ZK-IWG, HUP and IWD are all capable of IFR flight.
Notable missions
- 11 May 2003 – The boat Time Out capsizes and sinks 14 km (8.7 mi) off the coast near mayday call to shipping for the two other men, who were later presumed drowned.[5]
- 25 January 2009 – The Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter together with a Southern Lakes helicopter achieve one of New Zealand's longest-range helicopter rescues, retrieving an injured crewman from the passenger liner MS Bremen about 815 km (506 mi) south of Invercargill.[6][7][8][9] The Otago Daily Times reported the helicopter having a range of about 1,000 km (620 mi), dependent on conditions.[7]
Funding
The Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust was founded in 1998 to meet the cost of running the service, and funded the construction of the helipad on the roof of Dunedin Public Hospital. Operational funding is on a per call basis depending on the nature of the mission – the
See also
- Emergency medical services in New Zealand
- Westpac Rescue Helicopter (New Zealand)
References
- ^ a b c Hepburn, Steve (12 February 2008). "ORC saves rescue helicopter". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Regional Rescue" (PDF). otagowide. Otago Region Council. October 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Edwards, Jono (19 October 2017). "Rethink of rescue helicopter service". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ McPhee, Elena (30 March 2019). "Been a whirl and a 'privilege'". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Bowdler, John (July 2003). "Independent review of the search and rescue incident Oamaru 11 May 2003" (PDF). New Zealand Search and Rescue Council. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ "Injured cruise ship crew member sparks long-range rescue". New Zealand Herald. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ a b Porteous, Debbie (27 January 2009). "Campbell Island rescue one of longest". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ "Man recovers after chopper rescue". TVNZ. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ^ "Pilots in daring long-range rescue". The Southland Times. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
External links
