Every hour of every day - WA’s only 24/7 emergency rescue helicopter service
Sponsored by RAC, funded by the State Government and managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) the RAC Rescue helicopters provide vital search and rescue and critical care medical services to the WA community.
Celebrating 20 years of life saving missions
RAC Rescue celebrated 20 years of service to the WA community on 11 August 2023.
Since the inception of the service back in 2003 the helicopters have completed over 9,500 rescue missions and flown more than two million kilometres across WA.
In this video we reflect on how the service has evolved in two decades and the impact it has had on so many West Australians.
On behalf of the WA community, we thank DFES and the RAC Rescue crew for 20 years of life saving missions.
RAC has been supporting WA's only 24/7 emergency rescue helicopter service since 2003. Since then, the RAC Rescue helicopters have flown more than 9,500 missions.
The RAC Rescue helicopters respond to a wide range of emergencies including:
Land and maritime search and rescue
Road crash rescue
Industrial and agricultural rescue incidents
Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), Personal Location Beacon (PLB) and Emergency Locater Transmitter (ELT) activations
Flood and cyclone rescue and relief missions
Aircraft crashes and incidents
Cliff and vessel helicopter hoist rescues
Other operations include aerial intelligence and reconnaissance, 24-hour disaster and incident aerial mapping operations, emergency personnel and equipment transport and Inter-Hospital Patient Transport.
A third RAC Rescue helicopter provides backup to ensure the two primary helicopters maintain an online status of more than 90 per cent. The backup helicopter can be mobilised to support All-Hazards rescue operations, as it did during the Carnarvon floods, Tropical Cyclone Seroja, Kimberley floods, and the Total Solar Eclipse in Exmouth.
Latest Facts
New rescue helicopters coming soon
The RAC Rescue helicopters will soon be replaced with new and improved twin-engine Leonardo AW139 helicopters. These State Government funded helicopters are being customised to the needs of our emergency rescue helicopter crews and will increase the capability of this life-saving service.
The new helicopters will decrease response times to people in need, with the capacity to fly 45 kilometres per hour faster and reach a top speed of 309 km/ph. They will also be able to fly out and back as far as Albany or Dongara without refuelling. This means RAC Rescue can deliver rapid support to more people in WA than ever before. The cabin is also bigger, with the capacity to fit two stretchered patients and equipment or up to 10 seated passengers depending on the need. Paired with some of the most advanced aeromedical equipment and search and rescue technology, this new fleet upgrade will carry RAC Rescue well into the future.
Over the past five years, the RAC Rescue helicopters have a yearly average of:
On 4th May 2023, RAC Rescue completed its 9500th rescue mission since the inception of the service in August 2003. In that time over 6,500 patients have been transported and over 2 million kilometres travelled across WA.
On each mission, the RAC Rescue helicopters fly with a crew that includes a Pilot, an Aircrew Officer and a Critical Care Paramedic (CCP). The RAC recue crew can be airborne within 15 minutes of receiving a call.
RAC Rescue crew:
The Pilot, who is contracted through CHC Helicopters Australia, is responsible for flying the RAC Rescue helicopter safely and efficiently into often challenging environments and giving the crew and CCP the best chance of reaching and aiding those in distress.
The Aircrew Officer, who is contracted through CHC Helicopters Australia, manages confined area landings, hoist operations and assists the CCP and Pilot when needed. The Aircrew Officer also works with the Rescue helicopter’s state-of-the-art Forward Looking Infrared or ‘FLIR’ camera that can help locate people in distress at sea or in remote areas.
The Critical Care Paramedic, who is contracted through St John Ambulance, provides emergency critical care directly at the incident scene in a pre-hospital environment. The CCP must often work with patients in some of the most logistically challenging emergency situations. Their key duty is to stabilise the patient and then transport them to a medical facility if required. CCP capabilities include: advanced airways management, rapid sequence induction and administration of drug and blood transfusion.
We actively encourage our community to learn more about and engage with the RAC Rescue helicopters.
The RAC Rescue Experience enables you to take to the sky with the crew using virtual reality technology. The four-minute, 360-degree experience takes you on a mission on board one of the RAC Rescue helicopters without leaving the ground.
To enquire about having a virtual reality experience at your next event, click the button below.
RAC Rescue takes part in a limited number of community events, base visits, and training exercises. We also arrange reunions for those rescued by RAC Rescue, so that they can meet the flight crew who assisted them.
To request RAC Rescue for an event, exercise, rescue reunion or to schedule a base visit, please complete the online Event Request Form.
RAC Rescue missions
Since 2003, RAC Rescue has performed over 9,800 missions.
With one helicopter base in Perth and the second base in Bunbury, rescue missions can be performed as far north as Jurien Bay and as far south as Windy Harbour.
See some of the missions performed on the map below.
RAC Rescue stories
Stories from the RAC Rescue crew and the people whose lives they've helped save
