Wednesday 24th March saw the conclusion of the national terrestrial Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise in a mountain environment. The scenario of the SATER-01 exercise involved the search and rescue of a military aircraft crew involved in a simulated air incident in a terrestrial mountain environment. Air traffic control bodies notified the loss of radio and radar contact with a Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance) aircraft that had taken off from Piacenza for a training flight mission. The SAR desk at the COFA Operations Room, alerted to the incident, initiated coordination operations for the crew's recovery. Two helicopters were deployed: an AB-212 from the 81st CAE (Crew Training Centre) of the 15th CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) Wing of Pratica di Mare (Rome) and an AB-212 from the Italian Navy, at the 50th Wing in Piacenza for recovery operations. An Advanced Base Post (PBA) was established in the Albareto area (Parma) with SAR operator personnel to facilitate recovery operations for the air/ground personnel of the Alpine Rescue Service. Furthermore, medical support was provided by the Italian Red Cross in case the personnel to be recovered had been injured.
The Italian Air Force's SAR Service provides search and rescue for flight crews, while also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in mountains, emergency medical transport of critically ill patients, and rescue of severely injured individuals. In 2009, there were 1,197 operations carried out, of which 140 involved Italian Air Force helicopters.
