| Salthill Millennium Air Show - Souvenir Brochure - July 4th, 1999 | ||
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| Who we are and what we do?
We are correctly known as the Shannon Search & Rescue Helicopter for the Irish Marine Emergency Service. IMES is part of the Dept. of Marine & Natural Resources. We are contracted to proved an all weather SAR service, by day and night, to 200 nautical miles in the Atlantic, from Irish refuelling sites, to the south, south west and west. Other helicopters available to IMES are S-61 in Dublin, an Air Corps Dauphin in Finner, Donegal and an Alouette 3 in Waterford, soon to be replaced by a Dauphin. UK rescue helicopters based in Scotland, Wales and England are also available to Irish Rescue Controllers as are Irish based helicopters to UK Rescue Controllers. Rescue is humanitarian and international co-operation is the norm. The Shannon S-61 carries out numerous rescues in UK airspace each year. By day we respond to emergencies at 15 minutes notice and by night 45 minutes. This is the internationally accepted time it takes to assess information and react to the call. Normally our response is in half this time. Our typical missions are:
The fishing ground of the Great Sole Area, Porcupine Bank and Rockall Bank attract a multinational fleet of fishing vessels. We are their ambulance service when they pass through our waters. We also support the island communities around the coast when they have medical emergencies. We assist in searches for missing or overdue people at sea or on land in tandem which other rescue agencies such as the other cliff and shore teams of the IMES of which there are over 50 countrywide, the RNLI, mountain rescue teams of the IMRA and also Civil Defense. Crew composition & teamwork:
The aircraft:
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