Award of recognition for Search and Rescue

Date: 6th May 2019

Helicopters play a big part of life in New Zealand.  From mustering farm animals to lifting and shifting conservation and track workers.  From spraying agricultural crops to fighting fires – they offer a lot more than just scenic flights for visitors.

They also play an major role in rescuing people in the remote back-country.  At Aspiring Helicopters we are on the doorstep of Mt Aspiring National Park so the call for help comes often.

This month we received an award of recognition from the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council for our role in rescuing an Australian climber from Mt Aspiring.

Pilots James Ford and Tim Coldicott were involved in the four-day rescue mission which was hampered by poor weather but fortunately resulted in a ‘happy ending’ for the climber.

We were part of a team of rescuers including volunteer members of the Wanaka LandSAR group, the Wanaka Police, Southern Lakes Helicopters and Aoraki/Mt Cook SAR.

Our pilots train regularly with our local Search and Rescue volunteers to create a highly skilled team who can respond to distress calls quickly and efficiently.

It was privilege and an honour to be recognized in Parliament for our services.