Scotland’s gang war eyes in the sky – How cop helicopter plays key role tackling underworld crime

Need to know

Figures released by Police Scotland show that the number of flying hours undertaken by the force’s helicopter has risen by 27 percent in the last three years.

Things you need to know about the Police Scotland helicopter

• When Police Scotland was formed in 2013 it inherited the force helicopter from the former Strathclyde Police which had been been running a helicopter unit since the late 1980’s.
• The aircraft is stationed at the Glasgow City Heliport on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Flights operate with one civilian pilot and two trained police officers. One cop sits up the up front with the pilot, another in the rear. There is also a spare seat for a passenger if needed. Aerospace firm Babcock supply the pilot and the helicopter
• The pilots are in overall command and any decision to halt a flight and return to base is that of the pilot. The cops have to go through a vigorous four week training course which includes helicopter underwater escape training. Police helicopter crews also work work alongside the fire service, the Coastguard, and both police and civilian Mountain Rescue teams,
• Missing persons makes up the large majority of the air support units work followed by vehicle pursuits and suspect searches. The helicopter – an Airbus H135-T3 – is also used for monitoring crowds on big football match days and big public demonstrations and gatherings.
• The helicopter is fitted with digital cameras and also a searchlight, used mainly to light up a large area for officers on the ground during searches or pursuits. The cop crew also have night vision goggles for searches of rural areas in the dark and a tracker device for tracing stolen vehicles.
• In November 2013, a police helicopter crashed into The Clutha, a pub in Glasgow city-centre, killing all three crew on board and seven patrons of the pub. Thirty-one more people in the pub were injured The subsequent Fatal Accident Inquiry said the crash was due to fuel starvation which caused the engines to malfunction.

READ THE FULL STORY: Cops deploy gangland chopper in bid to bring violence sweeping Scotland’s streets under control