Aerial Support to Regional Enforcement Agencies explained

32.8188°N -116.974°WAerial Support To Regional Enforcement Agencies (ASTREA) is the aviation unit of the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. ASTREA is based at Gillespie Field Airport in El Cajon, California.

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 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 205A-1++ "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. They are designated Copter 10 and 12.

2008 - A new Bell 407 is acquired and equipped to support law enforcement and command and control missions.

2009 - ASTREA sells two of its Hughes 500Ds. (ASTREA 2 & 4) These will eventually be replaced with MD530Fs.

2010 - The only MD500E owned by ASTREA is converted to an MD530F, which is better suited for high altitude and hot weather operations.

2015 - ASTREA adds a Bell 407GX to the fleet (N972PC). On September 29, ASTREA receives a third Bell 205A-1. Like the first two, Copter 11 was rebuilt by Eagle Copters and flown from Calgary to El Cajon.

Aircraft

As of November 2023, ASTREA's fleet consists of 8 helicopters:

RoleMake/Model (Qty)Unit No.Tail No.MFG YearSerial No. (C/N)
Law Enforcement*Bell 407GXi (4)NoneN319MW201954814
NoneN313DP201954880
NoneN709WG202054885
NoneN998LQ202356345
Firefighting/RescueBell 205A-1++ (3)ASTREA 10N449RC197330121
ASTREA 11N549RL197530215
ASTREA 12N107BZ196830013
Bell 412EPX (1)ASTREA 11N989RL202339110

References

External links