Preparing for a rescue

RAC Rescue Aircrew Jordan Dickinson is truly a jack of all trades.

He finds it hard to explain exactly what his role is as aircrew – he’s got so many different roles within the aircraft, each one as vital as the last.

Basically, he enables the pilot to find the target destination as quickly as possible and prepare the crew to assist on the scene when they arrive.

To do that, Jordan prepares the helicopter for a mission on-site at the Bunbury base, navigates, communicates with ground crew and helps the pilot and operates the winch and the forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera to detect heat on the ground. If the helicopter can't land, Jordan also operates the winch to lower the paramedic down to the patient.

It’s a big job, but Jordan and the crew trust each other with their lives. Check out his tour of his workplace inside an RAC Rescue helicopter.

Funded by the State Government, the RAC Rescue helicopters are managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and sponsored by RAC.

The RAC Rescue helicopters provide vital search and rescue critical care medical services to the WA community. They are funded by the State Government, managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and sponsored by RAC.