Missions
~ In 32 years of Service, aircrewman Graham Nickisson has never seen the water brimming with sharks like he did on the morning of 18th January. Graham was part of the rescue team that scoured the coastline in the hours following a recent shark attack on a local surfer at Redhead. The number of predators chasing schools of baitfish was so high that the crew advised local councils to close the beaches from Stockton to Caves Beach. The sightings included a large shark, at least 4 metres long and possible a great white, swimming toward a surfer just down the beach from where the recent attack had taken place. The crew report that the Shark was as close as 20 metres from the surfer and "swimming straight at him" when the helicopter was able to hover above and warn the surfer. The crew said the shark was heading straight for the man, with Graham saying, "We feared for this blokes safety, it was a dire situation". "My heart sank, I thought we were going to witness something really bad". A few days later the crew were contacted by the man, thanking them for potentially saving his life. He had no idea just how close the shark was that day.
~ On the 15th August, a 24 year old Korean man was airlifted from a bulk chemical carrier 100 miles off the coast of Port Macquarie. Due to the distance off-shore, the Air Crew and Paramedics in Westpac 2 were provided "top cover", where a support, fixed wing aircraft from AusSar, (Australian Search and Rescue), accompanies the helicopter as a precautionary measure. On arrival, unable to land or hoist, the Pilot and Aircrew were forced to undertake a high line transfer technique, where a rope connects the helicopter to the bulk carrier via the helicopter winch cable. This enables the Aircrew to undertake the hoist retrieval approximately 30 metres to the side of the moving vessel. At approx 9.00am the man was airlifted to Port Macquarie Hospital in a critical condition, following a ruptured appendix. This was classed as a life saving flight and was the first mission flying the Bell 412EP, a new aircraft recently added to the fleet.
Each year the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service undertakes more than 1400 missions across the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, New England and North West regions. A full list of recent missions is available on the link below