McDermott Aviation dispatches nine aircraft to Greece
The fleet is comprised of six Bell 214STs from Australia, and three more from the company’s US operations
McDermott Aviation has dispatched six Bell 214ST helicopters to Greece to assist with this year’s wildfire season. The aircraft, deployed from Australia, will reinforce the presence of six McDermott Aviation B214STs already stationed in the country.
They will also be joined by three more rotorcraft en route from McDermott’s US operations – bringing the total firefighting fleet stationed by the company in Greece this season to 15 aircraft.
Greece’s fire season officially began on 1 May, and will run until 31 October.
“This is our fifth year fighting fires in Greece,” said John McDermott, Founder and President of McDermott Aviation. “Last year we performed in excess of 4,000 hours across 14 helicopters, dropping over 25,000 loads onto their wildfires. That’s roughly 75 million liters of water dropped.”
The Greek government recently placed an order with manufacturer Airbus for eight new H215 Super Puma helicopters for use in aerial firefighting operations.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is 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.