On the night between Friday 7th and Saturday 8th March, an HH-139B helicopter of the’82° SAR Centre (Search and Rescue – Search and Rescue) of the Italian Air Force, based at Trapani military airport, intervened to recover on the’Pantelleria Island a young man who required urgent surgery. The young man, assisted by a medical team on board the helicopter, was then transported to’Palermo Civil Hospital.
The urgent transport mission, requested by Trapani Prefecture, it was coordinated by Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (Ferrara), which authorised the take-off of the Trapani helicopter, one of the rotary-wing assets on standby for activities Search and Rescue national and adequate for the type of emergency.
It 15th Wing The Italian Air Force guarantees, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without interruption, the search and rescue of flight crews in distress, also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in mountains, the emergency medical transport of patients in imminent danger of death, and the rescue of seriously traumatised individuals, operating even in extreme weather conditions.
From its establishment to the present day, the crews of 15th Wing They have saved more than 7,500 people from life-threatening danger. Since 2018, the Department has acquired AIB (Wildfire Fighting) capability, contributing to the prevention and fight against fires throughout the national territory as part of the joint interforce apparatus deployed by the Defence.
