Air Rescue OperationsFor many years Garden City Helicopters Ltd has been providing a rescue operation in the South Island of New Zealand through the formation of The Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, and in conjunction with St John Ambulance. This partnership has been sponsored since 1992 by Westpac Banking Corporation and on the West Coast is now sponsored by Solid Energy Coals of New Zealand. In September 1996 Garden City Helicopters expanded it's Air Ambulance/ Rescue Helicopter operation, by establishing a dedicated helicopter based at Nelson to provide the service for the Nelson and Marlborough region, sponsored by the New Zealand Community Trust.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter
Garden City Helicopters own and operate a BK 117 twin engine helicopter which is fully equipped with the necessary avionics, life support systems, winch and night-sun equipment to provide effective aerial rescue services. This machine is better known as the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. We also have a second fully equipped
AS 350BA Squirrel helicopter for back-up if required. Both aircraft are on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week standby.
Our helicopters are engaged continually on Paramedic attendances and critical care patient transfers from accident scenes, searching, water and mountain rescues, and inter-hospital patient transfers. |
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BK 117 Westpac Rescue Helicopter
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We also provide a support service for the NZ Police in Christchurch and surrounding country areas in the roles of searching, surveillance, emergency and crime prevention.
The rescue helicopter is crewed by Garden City Helicopters pilots, paramedics from St. Johns and also a specialist water rescue team covering surf, river, boat and dive rescues. Training and equipment is of the highest standard. Funding for these areas plus much of the organisational infrastructure is obtained via the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust.
The Solid Energy Rescue Helicopter, Greymouth | | The West Coast and Nelson/Marlborough Regions
Garden City Helicopters have again secured the ACC contracts to provide the Air Rescue/ Ambulance Helicopters for Canterbury, the Nelson Marlborough region, the West Coast, South Westland and for the Fixed Wing Air Ambulance for the greater South Island. Garden City Helicopters Ltd also operate dedicated EMS, winch equipped AS 350B Air Ambulance / Rescue Helicopters at the Nelson and Greymouth bases. In 1997 we completed the building of the Solid Energy Rescue Centre opposite the Greymouth Hospital. |
The New Zealand Flying Doctor Service
Our Air Rescue network is further supported by a dedicated Fixed Wing Air Ambulance service operating under the banner of the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service.
The aircraft, based at Christchurch International Airport, are a Golden Eagle IFR, pressurised twin engine plus a Cessna 441 Conquest. Both aircraft are used for inter-hospital patient transfers, throughout New Zealand.
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Cessna 441 Conquest |
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