In approximately eight months, the public security department of Mexico City rescued 271 victims of road accidents, burn victims and other injured persons with its Ecureuil helicopters.

The Mexico City metropolitan area has a population of over twenty million, making it extremely difficult to guarantee public security without the aid of helicopters. The city’s public security department employs six Ecureuils/AStars to protect its inhabitants. It has become so fond of this type of helicopter that, after 26 years of service, it has decided to replace two of its older models… with two AS350 B3s! “The size and complexity of Mexico City forced the police services to start using helicopters in the early 1980s to monitor road conditions. Today, the helicopters mainly carry out security missions,” explains Mexico City police chief Joel Ortega. “Helicopters enable us to make patrol flights and hunt down criminals, but more than anything else they are a valuable deterrent. If you ask me, helicopters are an indispensable tool for city police forces anywhere in the world.” Because they are also deployed on night missions, the Mexican police helicopters are equipped with an extremely powerful headlight known as Nightsun to support the forces on the ground. The range of missions undertaken by the forces of law and order, particularly air rescue operations, enables the helicopter to show off its full versatility: in more than eight and a half months, the police rescued 271 victims of road accidents, burn victims and other injured persons. “We have already received one AS350 B3 and the next is due for delivery at the end of this year. We decided to stay faithful to the Ecureuil/AStar because it has sufficient power to lift off easily with four passengers and two crew members on board, even in a city situated at such a high altitude as Mexico. The helicopter works admirably, and we are very satisfied with it. What’s more, since we are administrating public funds, we had to choose a model that was good value for money. The Ecureuil/AStar really is excellent in terms of efficiency,” Ortega stresses. “The Cóndores – as these helicopters are nicknamed over here – have set a national standard for Mexican police aviation. We are confident that, like their predecessors, the new Ecureuils/AStars will give us full satisfaction.”