WCPD Aviation

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About WCPD Aviation

Profile Information

  • Name: Vincent Antonecchia
  • Location Hawthorne
  • Agency Westchester County Police
  1. My name is Vincent Antonecchia, I am a Sergeant with the Westchester County Police and the Commanding Officer of The Westchester County Police Aviation Unit. After being alerted to the content of this forum, I am compelled to respond professionally, clear up any false information or misconceptions and provide accurate details about our capabilities and the mechanism for requesting our services. We are still very much assisting regional jurisdictions and municipalities. The Unit consists of six police officers, including myself and we are all trained as Tactical Flight Officers. One officer is our Unit mechanic. He is A&P/IA licensed through the FAA and has extensive experience and training in the commercial aviation industry. We currently have two Bell 407 helicopters and there are four commercially rated helicopter pilots with varying backgrounds, training and experience. Safety is our number one priority and we strive to be available and provide whatever resources we can to Police, Fire and OEM's. Recently, at the request of the Westchester County DPW, we used our infrared FLIR technology to locate a large underground steam leak at the Westchester Medical Center and prevented the need to dig multiple and costly search holes. We are available 24/7/365, but obviously limited during inclement weather, high winds, crew availability and concurrent operations. Due to manpower limitations, calls for service and budget constraints, we staff the Unit five days a week from 0900/2400 hours. Our services are FREE as we are a regional asset and regularly operate outside of Westchester County. Any municipality requesting air support should contact the WCPD Desk Officer at (914) 864-7890. Any specific questions concerning the Unit and our capabilities can contact me directly at (914) 995-5019. The following is a list of our most commonly requested services and capabilities in no particular order: Bambi-Bucket (fire fighting) operations. We do not require Forest Ranger of SEMO authorization to be called, but requests should be based on common sense, severity and requesting agency protocolsFLIR (Infrared) searches (day & night) - Great for locating suspects, lost hikers or "Hot-spots" at fire scenesIce/water rescueScene IlluminationAerial photography (Video and/or stills) Surveillance and/or reconnaissanceLive video microwave downlinking Project LifesaverSpecial Response Team and/or equipment insertion or extraction Scene IlluminationLocating and identifying fuel spills/contamination of waterwaysForce multiplierWe are currently conducting hoist training with the WCPD Emergency Services Unit and Marine Unit and will have this completed in mid-May. Thank you to all who have supported our cause and utilized our services. We look forward to providing whatever regional air support is necessary to increase safety and enhance or further your mission success.