Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is refreshing their fleet with AW139 helicopters

They have received three of the four ordered so far

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Helicopter #1, an AW139, N911RZ
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Helicopter #1, an AW139, N911RZ. Photo by Jon Goldin.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) has received three of the four Leonardo AW139 helicopters that they ordered in December, 2019, with the fourth due in April. As we noted in a 2015 story about the department’s helicopter fleet, they have been operating four Bell 412 EPs.

The MDFR will use the fleet of four AW139s in a multitude of missions which include emergency medical services, firefighting, search and rescue, and disaster relief.

Two of the new helicopters have shown up so far in the FAA aircraft registry.

MDFR helicopters, FAA registrations
MDFR helicopters, FAA registrations, March 29, 2021
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Helicopter #3, N208LC
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Helicopter #3, an AW139, N208LC. Photo by Jon Goldin.

Leonardo has received over 1,100 orders for AW139s in more than 70 countries since their first delivery in 2004. The AW139s built for MDFR have the ability to quickly reconfigure the cabin interior based upon which mission the crew will be executing. These new aircraft are equipped with a Goodrich hoist, fast roping, cargo hook, and Bambi bucket for firefighting missions, a Trakka searchlight, a Forward Looking Infrared unit, a mission console in the cabin linked to the 5th display in the cockpit, broadband radios to include USCG Comms, weather radar, and other avionics systems such as traffic alert and collision avoidance (TCAS), obstacle and terrain avoidance, obstacle avoidance detection, and they are compatible for NVG.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Helicopter #4, N911RA
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Helicopter #4, an AW139, N911RA. Photo by Jon Goldin.

The AW139 is able to fly in all weather conditions with advanced protection against icing. It is the only model capable of 60 minutes of flight without oil in the transmission, double the time set by certification authorities.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Helicopter #1, an AW139, N217LC
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Helicopter #1, an AW139, N217LC. Photo by Jon Goldin.

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