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State of New Jersey

NJSP







New Jersey State Police State of New Jersey

Established 1969, the New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau mission evolved and has grown into a 24/7 operation which serves as a Law Enforcement, Homeland Security and Search and Rescue entity as well as a MedEvac response air ambulance service.

The Aviation Bureau’s certified maintenance technicians are responsible for complying with all applicable Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), airworthiness directives (ADs), manufacturers service bulletins, and Aviation Maintenance Manual procedures, to ensure the Bureau’s fleet remains airworthy at all times.

As of 2020, Bureau operates 5 AW139, 2 Bell 206 Long Rangers and one OH-58 military surplus helicopter




Sikorsky S-76 in New Jersey State Police Service

760331 was the first ship purchased by NJ State Police (NJSP) from Sikorsky in 1986 and registered as N1NJ. It had a standard interior (not medevac or executive) and the rear cabin doors were swing open type (like an automobile). It was initially intended to be a training ship to bring all of the pilots up to speed on the twin-engine S-76B as the NJSP had a fleet of single-engine Bell 206 Jet Rangers. In 1987 the NJSP ordered 2 more S-76Bs (760345 & 760346). These 2 ships were delivered in 1988 and registered as N9NJ (345) and N5NJ (346). N9NJ was named SouthSTAR (Southern Shock Trauma Air Rescue) and provided medevac services for the southern half of NJ state. N5NJ was named NorthSTAR and provided medevac services for the southern half of NJ state. "NorthSTAR" and "SouthSTAR" were painted on the tail cone of each respective ship. The EMS Star of Life was also applied to the gearbox nacelle just below the main rotor.

Both of these ships were configured with a medevac interior and the rear cabin doors were flush sliding type (like those found on a minivan). When the doors closed they were flush with the fuselage. These doors were very rare in the 103 S-76B fleet. The sliding doors allowed easy loading of a stretcher because personnel could stand on both sides of the stretcher as it was loaded into the ship. All 3 ships had NiteSun spotlights installed on the starboard side when purchased new from Sikorsky. In the mid-1990s, then-governor Christine Todd Whitman was incensed to learn that 760331 (N1NJ) sat idle in a hangar most of the time as it was only used for occasional new pilot training AND was also designated as the governor's "personal executive transport". She ordered the NJSP to send the ship back to Sikorsky to be outfitted with a medevac interior so it could serve as a backup to the primary medevac ships 760345 & 760346. The EMS star of Life was applied to the fuselage behind the pilot's door. At this point in time, 345 & 346 had identical paint schemes, but 331 had its own unique paint scheme. Sometime around the year 2000 all 3 ships had wire strike protection kits installed - comprised of wire cutting blades mounted on the roof and under the nose as well as deflector ramps in front of the windshield wiper arms. Shortly after that, 760345 & 76346 had Goodrich rescue hoists installed on the starboard side. The NiteSun spotlights were relocated to the port side. 760331 did not get a rescue hoist because the car-like rear doors were not conducive to hoisting operations and therefore its NiteSun remained on the starboard side. Also at this point, all 3 S-76B's (331, 345 & 346) and the 3 Bell 206's received new paint so the entire fleet had a "family resemblance".

In 2002, the NJSP used homeland security funding to purchase a used S-76B - 760409. This ship was purchased new in 1992 by a customer in the USA and then sold to NJSP in 2002 and registered as N7NJ. This ship had the same automobile style swing-out rear doors like 760331. This ship never received the EMS Star so I don't believe it had a medevac interior. It was given matching paint and the wire strike protection kit. A NiteSun was installed on the port side and a large 360-deg infrared camera ball on the starboard side. It did not receive a Goodrich rescue hoist because the automobile style rear doors were not conducive to hoisting operations. In 2006, the NJSP purchased another used S-76B - 760391. This ship was purchased new in 1991 by a customer in England and then sold to NJSP in 2006 and registered as N8NJ. This ship had sliding rear cabin doors that did NOT sit flush with the fuselage when closed. The door sliding tracks were visible at all times and were not hidden like the door tracks on 760345 & 760346. This style of sliding door was more common on the S-76B fleet. This ship received the EMS Star so I believe it was re-fitted with a medevac interior. It was given matching paint and the wire strike protection kit. A NiteSun was installed on the bottom of the nose cone and a small 360-deg camera ball on the port side. It also received a Goodrich rescue hoist because the sliding rear doors were conducive to hoisting operations.

Also in 2006, the NJSP acquired (for free) an ex-Army 1970 Bell OH-58A from Camden County NJ sheriff's dept who also acquired it for free from Army surplus. The maintenance and operational costs were too high for the county and they gave the ship to the NJSP.) In 2012, all 5 S-76B's were auctioned as a 5-ship package deal with LOTS of spare parts. Al 5 ships were purchased by a customer (Brown Helicopters) in Florida. The NJSP then purchased 5 new AW139 ships to join the 2 Bell 206's and 1 OH-58A. In 2015, 760391 (N8NJ) was purchased by a customer in Germany and then found its way to South Korea in 2018. The ship crashed during a medevac hoisting operation in May 2020. The rescue personnel onboard the ship survived, but the man being hoisted and his wife both died. The ship is a total loss. I believe 760346 (N5NJ NorthSTAR) was also purchased by a customer in South Korea. As of late 2020, 760331 (N1NJ), 760345 (N9NJ SouthSTAR) and 760409 (N7NJ) still reside in Florida awaiting sale. -




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AW139 STARS and New Jersey Training Contracts

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18-Nov-15 - AgustaWestland signed long term training service contracts with AW139 operators Canada medical provider STARS and the U.S. State of New Jersey Police


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