Suffolk County NY adds second EC145 to fleet

Airbus Helicopters, March 03, 2015 - ORLANDO, Florida – Suffolk County Police Department, Long Island, NY has purchased a second Airbus Helicopters EC145 helicopter to add to its fleet of one EC145 and two AS350B2s. The new aircraft will replace an older AS350B2.

The Suffolk County Police Aviation Section performs a wide variety of missions including law enforcement, medevac, inter-hospital transport and search and rescue. The Suffolk County EC145's primarily conduct medevac operations across Long Island, but are also equipped to perform law enforcement missions with a thermal imager, searchlight and moving map system. The AS350B2's perform air medical missions in a backup role to law enforcement calls.

"The cabin size and flexibility of the EC145 make it an excellent aircraft for our air medical service missions," said Sgt. Brian Barrett, commanding officer of SCPD's Aviation Section. "Adding a second EC145 gives us an EC145 and AS350B2 operating at each of our two bases. Product support from Airbus Helicopters has been great, so we are proud to stay with their helicopters."

"The deployment of a second EC145 by Suffolk County PD demonstrates the flexibility and multi-mission capability of the Airbus Helicopters light twin-engine helicopter family," said Ed Van Winkle, Sales Manager for Airborne Law Enforcement for Airbus Helicopters. "Law enforcement agencies in the northeastern U.S., including Suffolk County PD, Virginia State Police, and Massachusetts State Police, continue to rely on Airbus Helicopters EC145 and EC135 models to perform a variety of missions with high performance and low operating cost."

The combination of speed and performance, its high-set main and tail rotors, and rear-loading clamshell doors make the EC145 a top choice for many air medical service and law enforcement operators in the United States. Powered by two Turbomeca ARRIEL 1D1 engines, the aircraft provides expanded range and payload capacity.

For more information on Airbus Helicopters EC145, AS350 AStars and other industry leading products, stop by Airbus Helicopters Booth #2437 at Heli-Expo 2015 in Orlando.

Airbus Helicopters Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Airbus Helicopters, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, and a subsidiary of the Airbus Group. Airbus Helicopters Inc. is a manufacturer, markets, sells and supports the broadest range of civil and parapublic helicopters offered in the U.S. The product line represents the industry's most cost-effective, technologically-advanced helicopters serving all markets and missions. The company's headquarters and main facility are in Grand Prairie, Texas with a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss.