29.09.2017.
Successful verification of search and rescue forces
The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Health and the Civil Aviation Directorate have successfully carried out today the search and rescue exercise "SAREX 39-17" aimed at testing the cooperation of civilian and military forces on duty in the mission of reaction to a civil aviation accident in the territory of Serbia.
The exercise included Rescue Coordination Center of the Directorate at the Nikola Tesla Airport, the 98th Airborne Brigade with its helicopter units, the 714th Squadron from Kraljevo and the 119th Squadron from Niš, as well as the Clinical Center of the City of Niš.
According to the exercise scenario, the aircraft that experienced an accident in the Sjenica region emitted a distress signal that was transmitted by the Rescue Coordination Center of the Directorate to the AF&AD Operations Centre, under whose order search and rescue forces on alert at the airports in Nis and Kraljevo were activated.
The crew of the Gazela helicopter, from the Kraljevo Airport, had the task to locate the transmitter of the aircraft whose exact coordinates were transferred by the radio link to the Mi-8 helicopter, which, with the help of the team of the Clinical Center from Niš, located and urgently transported the injured to the Niš airport. The medical team of the Emergency Medical Service then took the injured and transported them to the Clinical Center whereby the exercise was officially completed.
The exercise has been completely successful, and the realized times, procedures and practical implementation of all scenarios will be analyzed in detail from the angle of the exercise manager and the participants.
The aim of the Civil Aviation Directorate is to use exercises such as these to check, but above all, to educate and improve all civilian and military declared units for search and rescue in civil aviation for the purpose of more efficient cooperation and performance.
