The 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron and local Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) members conducted a search and rescue exercise in and around Abbotsford from Feb. 25 to 28.
The exercise was held under the control of Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria.
Aircrews practised homing in on emergency locator beacons, parachuting to crash scenes and evacuating patients from remote areas.
The exercise used search coordinators located at a command centre in Comox and deployed air and maintenance crews in Abbotsford.
Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant helicopters, Buffalo airplanes and CASARA aircraft were launched to the Hope and Chilliwack areas of the Lower Mainland to conduct the exercise.
Members of the local CASARA provided their own aircraft and local knowledge to assist 442 Squadron personnel.
CASARA aircraft are used in a search role, and CASARA personnel can be used as spotters on board military aircraft.
The 442 squadron's Cormorant and Buffalo aircraft are JRCC Victoria’s primary means for aviation search and rescue responses in the Victoria Search and Rescue Region (SRR).
More than 70 members from 442 Squadron and 19 Wing Comox participated in the exercise, and 35 CASARA members provided aircraft and assistance.