It was a quiet weekend for missions but busy with meet-and-greets for the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter team.

No call-outs meant the team was able to install their BK-117 at the rear of their hangar to become part of the Gisborne Aviation Preservation Society Museum’s open weekend.

Pilots, critical care flight paramedics and crewmen were on hand to show guests how the BK-117 operates as a hard-working air ambulance.

“We are very strongly connected to and supported by our community but the team usually flies to remote locations with small populations,” says Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust chair Patrick Willock.

“So the open days were a great way for them to see a lot of people at one time, while also supporting our neighbours at the museum.”

Meanwhile, the team flew three rescue missions over the week from Monday, November 13:

• On Tuesday (3.50pm) they responded to a medical event at Te Whare Hauora o Ngati Porou/Te Puia Springs Hospital, flying the patient in stable condition to Gisborne Hospital.
• On Thursday (8am) they were called to a quad bike accident at Pōtaka, with the patient flown in stable condition to Gisborne Hospital.
• On Friday (12 noon) the team returned to the East Coast, responding to a medical event at Tikitiki. The patient was again flown in stable condition to Gisborne Hospital.

CAPTION: A quad bike accident in a remote area of Pōtaka called for a hillside landing from the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter.