When there's an emergency and the RCMP is called we respond. People typically think of a police car with its flashing lights heading to the scene, but airplanes and helicopters are also used in many ways by the RCMP. It's not something new as we have used aircraft for over 80 years.
It's a history that started right here in the Maritimes and in fact at the Moncton Airport. The RCMP established its Air Services Unit in Moncton back in the summer of 1937 since then 18 other locations across the country are home to RCMP Air Services. The airports in Moncton and Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador are currently the bases for RCMP aircraft in Atlantic Canada.
In its beginning, the fleet consisted of four planes (De Havilland Dragonfly) all of them having been purchased from the Royal Canada Air Force and the pilots who flew them also came from the Royal Canada Air Force. The main objective back then was to go after smugglers, as it was the era of the prohibition, and rum-running was happening off the coast because of our proximity to the United States. Today, the role of Air Services still includes watching over the coastline and borders of Atlantic Canada to monitor for smuggling and other criminal activity along our border but it also supports the work of the RCMP in many other ways.
Atlantic Canada was also the first when it came to RCMP helicopters. The first one purchased by the RCMP was in 1971 to support police operations in Newfoundland and Labrador. The helicopter is now based out of Moncton.
Even though the aircraft are based in two locations, their services are available to the RCMP in any of the Atlantic Provinces. Today, aircraft play an important role in policing as it allows the RCMP to transport investigators to remote communities, it can get emergency response teams and their equipment to where it's needed at a moment's notice, assist with aerial photos of crime scenes, monitor events where large crowds are gathering. The helicopter and plane both play important roles in search and rescue operations by providing a view from the sky to help ground search and rescue teams and it also allows police to transport prisoners over long distances in the quickest time possible.
looking at Atlantic Canada you can see how important air services is to the RCMP especially when you take into account the geographical makeup of the four provinces, the bodies of water separating the provinces and of course the changing weather conditions between provinces and communities. While the Maritime Provinces is relatively small when it comes to land mass, a drive that would take 10 hours from the Quebec border in New Brunswick to the tip of Cape Breton can be done in under two hours by using a helicopter or plane. It also allows quicker access to Newfoundland and Labrador. The area is vast with the southern tip of the Atlantic Provinces being in Yarmouth stretching north to Saglek in Newfoundland and Labrador. A drive that could take days can be done in just over three hours by air. In fact, there are many places in northern Labrador where the only accessibility is by flying in
An eight-seat Pilatus PC-12 fixed wing plane capable of flying at 30,000 feet and reaching speeds of 295 nautical miles an hour (490 km/hr) and a six-seat Airbus-H125 helicopter are based in Moncton. Both aircraft fly regularly, not just to destinations in Atlantic Canada, but when required have also flown to various Canadian, American and international destination airports all in support of RCMP investigations.
A 19-seat de Havilland DHC-6 Twin otter plane out of Goose Bay services primarily Newfoundland and Labrador because of the size of the province, but will also travel to the Maritime Provinces when required. The plane plays a vital role in this province as there are many northern communities where air travel is the quickest way to get there in the case of an emergency.
Keeping these planes and helicopter at the ready takes more than just pilots but a team of people. In the Atlantic Region, there are six pilots as two pilots are assigned to each aircraft, there are three maintenance personnel to service the aircraft and keep them operating and there are two flight coordinators who are responsible for managing all the flights. This team makes sure the aircraft are always at the ready so they are able to take to the air when called upon.