Interview: Anthony Marinello, President of Tropic Air Rescue

What’s your background in the aviation industry?

I served in law enforcement for over 28 years, including 27 years in the New Jersey State Police. Assignments included being a pilot in the Aviation Bureau for 21 years, where I was responsible for the movement of the Chief Executives of the State, as well as conducting aerial surveillance operations and medical evacuation flights. I also formed an aviation task force, assisting in the apprehension of numerous auto theft rings in the northern New Jersey area.

While assigned to the Aviation Bureau, I became the Training Officer of the Bureau and was responsible for selecting and training pilots in their respective assignments. In my tenure, I trained over 50 pilots to conduct law enforcement, executive transportation flights and medical evacuation flights. This training also included extensive pre-flight training of pilots to discover discrepancies prior to flight.

After retirement from the NJ State Police in 2006, I was hired as the first Chief Pilot of the Newark NJ Police Department. In this role, I was solely responsible for selecting and training pilots, as well as all operational and administrative startup requirements of the Aviation Unit. Duties included conducting all day-to-day operations, daily aircraft safety inspections and briefings, patrol strategies, and all maintenance planning.

I successfully started the first full-time municipal law enforcement aviation unit in the State of New Jersey and then went on to achieve a 20% overall reduction in the violent crime rate in one year, flying over 1,000 hours of patrol, a record in the city’s history that still stands today.

Following the Newark Police Department role, I became the Senior Captain at US Helicopter, mentoring and training the newer pilots in the operation of the Sikorsky helicopters, as well as operations within the complicated airspace of the New York City area. Following the company’s demise, I was hired as a simulator instructor for CAE Corporation, a worldwide leader in aviation training.

In 2015, I became the Director of Safety and Security for HeliFlite, remaining a fully certified and operational helicopter pilot for the company. This company operates a fleet of 15 helicopters with 30 pilots and 14 maintenance technicians, as well as other support staff.

I am intimately involved in the daily oversight of the maintenance department and work directly with the Director of Maintenance to assure safety is the overall goal of operations, conducting full safety audits of all the company departments and investigating all safety-related issues within the company. I developed a safety management program (SMS) for the company and multiple successful audit outcomes for Wyvern Wingman and Argus Platinum certifications. I have a certificate in Safety Management Training from MITRE Corporation (Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified training provider), as well as certificates in Aircraft Accident Investigation and Human Factors in Aircraft Accident Investigation from the Southern California Safety Institute.

I assumed daily management responsibility for Tropic Air Charters upon approval and purchase of the company in 2021. I possess an FAA airline transport pilot license, helicopter and commercial fixed-wing license, as well as a First-Class medical certificate. In my 39 years of aviation experience, I have accumulated over 14,000 hours of flight time.

Your current role is President of Tropic Air Charters, and Tropic Air Rescue. Could you fill us in on your background in the industry, and the company’s development?

The company [Tropic Air Charters] has operated as an FAA Part 135 operator for over 30 years, flying cargo and passengers between Florida and the Bahamas. On 1 March 2024, Tropic Air Rescue became fully operational. On 10 March, Tropic Air responded to a request from a US congressman to rescue 10 persons trapped in an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The country had fallen into civil war, trapping Americans in the country. We flew from Fort Lauderdale to the Dominican Republic then launched the rescue into Port-au-Prince, arriving at 03:00 hrs on 12 March. The rescue was a success and became worldwide news, appearing on multiple news networks (YouTube still has videos on its site). This was the impetus for Tropic Air Rescue to return later in the month and lead a multi-helicopter rescue task force in Haiti contracted by the Florida Division of Emergency Management that rescued close to 700 Americans. We received the 2024 Sikorsky Rescue Award, and the pilots, both former NJ state troopers, were named co-recipients of the 2024 Former NJ State Troopers of the Year in November 2024. 

We received the 2024 Sikorsky Rescue Award, and the pilots, both former NJ state troopers, were named co-recipients of the 2024 Former NJ State Troopers of the Year in November 2024

Which aircraft have you chosen for your fleet, and why is it right for your area of operations?

I chose the Sikorsky S-76 as our platform. I have personally operated this aircraft for close to 40 years and know its outstanding reliability and capabilities. Its speed and dispatch dependability are unmatched. Tech support is easy to reach as well, and personnel experienced in the aircraft are still in the workforce. 

There have been discussions in the industry about ongoing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) challenges faced by operators; are you experiencing any supply chain concerns, and how are you managing these?

Supply chain issues are a constant concern. We maintain a good dialogue with parts suppliers and repair facilities, so issues are dealt with in a timely manner.

How many full- or part-time staff do you employ, and how do you find the right people for this niche business?

We now have 30 full-time employees and 18 part-time employees. We find candidates primarily from personal referrals. In some cases, we find viable candidates from an aviation recruiting website.

What made you decide the Tropic Air Rescue service was needed in the Bahamas?

After purchasing Tropic Air Charters Inc. of Fort Lauderdale in 2021, an incident occurred that required activation of an air ambulance by one of our crews in the Bahamas. I then tried to have an air ambulance dispatched to the scene only to find out, a) none were able to respond without full payment upfront, b) within a timely manner (three days was the best I could get after calling 10–12 air ambulance companies, all fixed wing. The victim was having a stroke!) and c) no helicopter air ambulance programs were currently available in the Bahamas. 

It took two years to source the aircraft, modify our certificate, create a training and maintenance program, train the pilots and medical staff, and get the necessary approvals from the US and Bahamian authorities for the first international helicopter air ambulance program dedicated to service in the Bahamas

At this point I got our management group together and told them we were changing the direction of the company and starting a helicopter air ambulance program. It took two years to source the aircraft, modify our certificate, create a training and maintenance program, train the pilots and medical staff, and get the necessary approvals from the US and Bahamian authorities for the first international helicopter air ambulance program dedicated to service in the Bahamas.  

Why did you choose a subscription model of operations?

The program requires constant cash flow to sustain itself and remain mission ready.  We felt the membership model worked the best to maintain readiness and longevity.

Having a healthy working relationship with sending and receiving hospitals is key; how do you make sure you work well with physicians in different jurisdictions?

We developed a working relationship with physicians and our medical director by going to them and showcasing our services. When I first approached our medical director about the project, he leaped at the opportunity to be involved. He told me he had wanted and tried to get this going for over 30 years and no-one could do it.

We visit different physicians on remote islands and work with them to explain our capabilities and equipment. We have had nothing but positive responses. Most are simply overwhelmed to finally have help. There is nothing more frustrating to a physician or emergency medical technician (EMT) than to run out of treatment options on an island in the ocean and have to watch a patient languish and suffer waiting sometimes days for help to arrive, if it even does. We solved that problem, and the response speaks for itself. 

We have been to islands that have never received a helicopter air ambulance flight

The issue now is getting the word out, so everyone is aware of the service. We have been to islands that have never received a helicopter air ambulance flight. One of the challenges we are experiencing is explaining our capabilities to land in remote sites and recover patients. Most islands only know one way: get them to the airport. This can add hours to a rescue when we simply could have landed very close to the patient and removed them from the scene. It’s a lot of education and work at the same time while trying to do the actual mission. 

Our receiving hospitals understand the challenges we face. Our membership process requires members to attest and prove they have medical insurance prior to membership and an emergency activation. This allows our partner medical facilities to see we are making every effort to ensure the patient has medical coverage prior to arrival. While it by no means eliminates the possibility of a patient arriving with no insurance coverage, it does show we are being proactive. Our dispatch protocols prevent the helicopter from being dispatched to non-life-threatening emergencies. The member hospitals have agreed to accept patients regardless of their insurance coverage in an emergency.