Press release no. 35/2020 Air Rescue: Man injured in the Monti Picentini Regional Park transported overnight To carry out the night rescue on the Apennine Mountains of Campania, specifically on Pizzo San Michele, an HH139A helicopter from the 85th SAR Centre of the 15th Wing. An HH-139A helicopter was deployed in the middle of the night to rescue a 38-year-old man who had been seriously injured on Pizzo San Michele, in the Monti Piacentini Regional Park, in the province of Avellino. The military helicopter, one of the Armed Forces’ assets always on standby for take-off across the country, including for this type of transport, immediately took off from the Pratica di Mare military base – home to the 85th SAR (Search and Rescue) Centre of the 15th Wing – and swiftly reached the inaccessible mountainous area where the injured man was located. Working closely with members of the Campania National Alpine and Caving Rescue Corps and using NVG (night vision goggles), the night-vision equipment supplied to the Italian Air Force, the crew rescued the casualty and transferred him to the sports ground in Avellino, where he was subsequently entrusted to the specialist care of the 118 emergency service. Last night’s operation was coordinated by the Aerospace Operations Command in Poggio Renatico (FE), specifically by the Operations Room of the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) at the Italian Air Operation Centre, the Italian Air Force’s command and control centre from which all operational activities of this kind are managed. Last night’s operation is a tangible example of the flexibility of military resources in civilian operations carried out for non-strictly military purposes. The 85th Centre is one of the units of the Italian Air Force’s 15th Wing, which provides, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without interruption, search and rescue operations for flight crews in distress, whilst also contributing to public service activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, the emergency medical transport of critically ill patients and the rescue of seriously injured people, operating even in adverse weather conditions. Since its establishment, the crews of the 15th Wing have rescued more than 7,300 people in life-threatening situations or facing serious difficulties.