Inaer Spain has been presented with an EC225 helicopter by the Spanish minister of public works Ana Pastor. This aircraft replaces the Sikorsky S-61N, known as the Helimer Galicia, which has been used for rescue services for over 20 years at the airport in La Coruña.

The EC225 has an operational range of 220 nautical miles and a 21 passenger capacity. It has a crew of five and can reach an altitude of 20,000 feet and a cruising speed of 141 kts.

The aircraft was transferred to the rescue base in La Coruña on 7 August 2014 so that pilots and ground crew could initiate training and adaptation. It has been fully operational since February this year.

During this transition period, the Sikorsky S-61 has continued to operate from La Coruña and will continue to provide maritime rescue services as a back-up unit.

Over the past year, maritime rescue teams in Galicia have provided assistance to 783 people in 484 maritime emergencies.

The Spanish ministry of the environment has also awarded contracts to Inaer for four of the five helicopters providing firefighting, surveillance and forest fire coordination services for the 2015 winter-spring season. This service will remain active during the months of March, April and part of May.

The aircraft for this contract include four Bell 412 transport helicopters that can carry six people and a cargo load of 900-1,000 litres each. These four helicopters will be stationed at air bases in Pino Franqueado, Ruente, Tabuyo del Monte, and Tineo. In 2014, Inaer aircraft conducted over 3,700 firefighting operations, for a total of 6,216 hours in-flight.

Meanwhile, Inaer Italy has taken delivery of four EC145T2 HEMS kits from Mecaer Aviation Group. “We worked in close contact with MAG's team, mixing our skills and experience to build a highly engineered and well-designed system which will allow us to deliver the highest quality of service for our customers,” says Inaer Italy ceo Andrea Stolfa.