ASTREA is an acronym for Aerial Support To Regional Enforcement Agencies, the air support unit of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Each airship is designated by the name ASTREA and a number, for example: "ASTREA 1". ASTREA Base is located at Gillespie Field Airport (IATA: SEE, ICAO: KSEE) in El Cajon, California.
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History
1972 - ASTREA began operations with three Korean War-era Bell 47G helicopters based at Gillespie Field in El Cajon. 1997 - On February 16, Deputy Patrick "Pat" S. Coyle, 42, died after the ASTREA helicopter in which he and pilot Ron Hobson were flying lost power and crashed in Sycamore Canyon, northeast of Santee, California. His death marked the first fatality in the then 25-year history of the sheriff's air support unit. 2003 - Cedar Fire and Paradise Fire 2005 - ASTREA receives two refurbished Bell 205A1++ "Super Huey" firefighting helicopters. These are the first two aircraft purchased for the new regional fire helicopter program the county started after the October 2003 wildfires. Both are single-engine, medium-lift copters equipped with 375 gallon underbelly water tanks. The helicopters arrived at Gillespie Field after a three-day, 2,000-mile flight from Eagle Copters of Calgary, Canada.
Aircraft
In 2007, ASTREA's fleet consisted of:
| Aircraft Type | Make / Model / (Qty) | Unit / No. | Tail No. | Serial No. (C/N) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicopter - law enforcement* | MD 500D (3) | ASTREA 2 | N4575Z | 370094D |
| ASTREA 4 | N9106Z | 800776D | ||
| ASTREA 5 | N5108E | 811075D | ||
| MD 500E (1) | ASTREA 3 | N150JD | 0545E | |
| MD 530F (2) | ASTREA 6 | N535WK | 0138FF | |
| N131TZ | 0142FF | |||
| Helicopter - firefighting | Bell 205A1++ (2) | ASTREA 10 | N449RC | 30121 |
| ASTREA 12 | N107BZ | 30013 |
- Some models can be equipped with a Bambi bucket for use in firefighting.
References
- Goldin, J. (2003). San Diego move aerial support teams into one home. Air Beat Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2004 from http://www.alea.org/public/airbeat/back_issues/jan_feb_2003/sdso.htm .
- Gross, G. (March 24,2004). Joint-use plan for helicopters still sought. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/fires/20040327-9999-news_7m27helo.html .
- Moreland, J. (August 3, 2000). Sheriff has new helicopter, robot for rescues, crime-fighting. North County Times. Retrieved April 9, 2004 from http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2000/08/04/export14261.txt .
- Moreland, J. (August 15, 2002). Sheriff dedicates new emergency center. North County Times. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2002/08/16/export16249.txt .
