Rescue and Medical Equipment onboard
It takes highly specialist gear and training to help our team save lives. Some of the key pieces of rescue equipment on the helicopter are detailed below. To see medical equipment on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter click here.Winch
The winch is used to rescue people when the helicopter cannot land. It is a crucial live-saving tool at sea and in dense bush.
The cable is only a few millimetres thick but can lift up to 270kg.
It is operated by remote control from inside the helicopter by one of our specially trained crew. A crewperson or paramedic is attached to the winch and lowered down to the person in trouble.
It takes a great deal of teamwork to perform these rescues – the winch operator must be in constant communication with the pilot, who cannot see the subject of the winch mission directly below the helicopter.
Direction-Finding Equipment
All aircraft, many boats and some trampers carry 'emergency locator beacons', which can be used to help find them if they get in trouble. These beacons transmits a continuous signal on a specific radio frequency that can be tracked using the direction-finding equipment onboard the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The signal is initially picked up by satellite and, once the approximate location of the signal is determined to be in our area, the National Rescue Coordination Centre dispatches the helicopter to locate the source.
Night-Searching Tools
Locating people in poor light conditions is challenging but critical, because if you don’t find them they may face a cold night alone, which could be fatal.Nitesun: The Nitesun is basically an extremely powerful torch that is attached to the front of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. The light from this lamp is equivalent to 30 million candles, and is used for search and rescue missions flown at night or for approaching non-illuminated landing areas.
The Nitesun is remotely controlled from inside the helicopter by the crewperson or the pilot.
Night Vision Goggles: Best known from Hollywood spy or war movies, these goggles enable our rescue teams and pilots to see in a pitch-black night. The goggles both increase the safety of our night flights and enhance our searching capabilities. They work by picking up light sources not available to the naked eye.
For example when searching for a boat in trouble off Titahi Bay in Wellington, the people on board had a torch. This wasn’t visible with the naked eye until a few hundred metres away, but could be seen by the night vision goggles more than 15km away.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter’s cockpit has been modified with filters placed over all sources of light to make sure the night vision goggles can be as effective as possible.
Forward-Looking Infra Red (FLIR): The FLIR enables 'heat-based' searching. The FLIR unit creates heat-generated images that are transmitted to a computer inside the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The unit is so sensitive that our crew can see the difference between insulated and un-insulated houses as they fly above them.
The challenge is that when a person is lost at sea, they can lose body heat rapidly and only show up as tiny dots of light. This is one example of why the specialist training of our crew is so important.
Rescue Harnesses
A 'cinch collar' is specially designed for water rescues. The harness is put over a persons head then fit snugly under their arms. As the helicopter lifts the person from the water a clip releases, tightening the collar around the person, ensuring they cannot fall out of the harness even if they become unconscious.
A 'nappy' harness is designed for rescuing people who are not in the water. This harness is often used for yacht rescues or to lift people from the bush. The person being rescued puts their feet through the holes in the harness with the remainder coming around their front or behind. Once in place, the harness resembles a baby nappy, hence the name.
Our paramedics and rescue crew wear mountain-climbing harnesses. These are 'all-body' harnesses that attach to the winch hook near the chest. This type of harness is used because it leaves their hands and feet free to assist those who are being rescued and help keep them safe.
Water Bucket
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter can lift up to 1,000 litres of water in a monsoon bucket that hangs below the helicopter. Fire-suppression foam can be added to the water using a unit fitted into the back of the helicopter and controlled by the pilot. Each time the bucket is filled with water (using the nearest river, sea or fire appliance), the pilot is able to mix in a predetermined amount of foam, which aids in the fire-fighting effort.
Crew Gear
Mustang Survival Vest / Life Jackets: The Mustang is a military standard survival vest worn by our pilots, crew and paramedics on all Westpac Rescue Helicopter missions. A wide range of safety, rescue and survival equipment is cleverly incorporated into the vest, including a strobe light, emergency locator beacon, whistle, flares and first-aid kit.
Flight Helmets: Our helmets provide head protection and include microphones for internal and external communications, lip-lights for night-time operations, and external mounts for night vision equipment.
Survival Suits: These are worn in conditions of extreme cold. The Wellington Westpac Rescue Helicopter’s rescue zone extends more than 300km out to sea, so offshore rescues are common. The suit is highly specialised, with several layers that can prevent the effects of hypothermia caused by cold air or sea temperatures.
Life Rafts: A six-person life raft is carried onboard the helicopter for all missions over sea. The raft is automatically inflated in just a few seconds and has rescue, safety and survival equipment inside it.
The helicopter carries extra life rafts when required, which can be ‘air dropped’ to survivors in the water after a boating accident. As the raft is dropped from the helicopter it inflates automatically so that survivors can get aboard immediately.
Help Life Flight save lives.
