HALO Air Rescue reveals new fleet addition
HALO Air Rescue, a helicopter rescue service based in Alberta, Canada, has unveiled its newest addition – a BK117 twin-engine helicopter.
HALO Air Rescue, a helicopter rescue service based in Alberta, Canada, has unveiled its newest addition – a BK117 twin-engine helicopter.
The helicopter was approved for service by Transport Canada and has already performed two missions – a search and rescue on 28 September and a medical emergency the day after. The new helicopter joins the one other helicopter operated by the service. HALO has said that it will generally use the newer aircraft for missions.
“Essentially we’re going to only have one in service at a time. Rangeland [who staff the aircraft] isn’t going to staff both helicopters, but we will make sure there is helicopter available at all times,” said Tricia Nardari, Secretary on the HALO Board.
The new helicopter allows space for more paramedics in its cabin, as well as being equipped for night flights, and is able to fly faster than the service’s previous vehicle.
Steve Harmer, Chief Pilot of Rangeland Helicopters, added: “We can carry four sitting people, that could be two paramedics plus two staff, or in a horrendous situation like a Humboldt [bus crash tragedy] we could carry extra paramedics to a scene. We can also carry one stretcher all the time, but we have the ability to put a second stretcher in very rapidly if we need too.”