Bernalillo County resumes helicopter operations
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, in the US state of New Mexico, has resumed law enforcement helicopter operations after 16 months
Operations were suspended after the fatal crash of the Sheriff’s Office’s Metro 2 helicopter while responding to a wildfire on 16 July 2022, and only resumed this week.
Officials stated that the first resumed flight was conducted by the Metro 1 unit on 12 December 2023 using an AS350 B3. Metro 1 will initially be used exclusively for law enforcement operations.
The Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that Metro 3 – a fixed-wing Cessna T-41C – will no longer be used in a response role, and will become a full-time training aircraft.
A new helicopter – to be known as Metro 4 – will also join the fleet in the coming months. The Metro 2 name will be retired to respect the memory of the four first responders who died.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca was a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.