Spokane County Air Unit Relies on Volunteer Pilots for Patrol and Rescue
Spokane County’s Regional Air Support Unit uses volunteer civilian helicopter pilots alongside sworn tactical flight officers and rescue medics to support law-enforcement and search-and-rescue missions across the Inland Northwest. The county says the volunteers are available for emergency callouts, while deputies and officers operate mission equipment and coordinate with dispatch. Tactical flight officers come from the sheriff’s office and police departments in Spokane County, Spokane, Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake; fire-service paramedics also crew rescue missions.
The unit currently fields a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, a Bell OH-58 and a Bell UH-1H Super Huey. Spokane County states that the two patrol aircraft carry thermal cameras, searchlights, moving-map systems and live-video downlinks; Rescue-3 has a hoist and long-line capability for rescue work and received an AirTEP platform in 2026. The county says the camera systems can transmit live imagery to ground units during incidents.
According to the county, the Bell 505 was purchased new in May 2025, while the OH-58 and UH-1H came through government-surplus programs. Its 2025 totals list 37 combined search-and-rescue calls and 1,098 law-enforcement calls, with 274 arrests.
Why it matters
The Spokane model combines volunteer pilot experience with public-safety personnel and a mixed helicopter fleet. It shows how a regional unit can sustain patrol and rescue aviation capacity without staffing every flight position as a full-time sworn role.
Sources: Spokane County Air Support Unit; The Spokesman-Review: Volunteer pilots patrol the skies for Spokane County Sheriff’s Office; Officer.com: How Volunteer Pilots Help Keep Wash. Deputies in the Air
