Aerial Search and Rescue Operations (Advanced)

Overview

Aerial Search and Rescue Operations is an advanced course designed for agencies that are tasked with searches for people. Drones provide a unique capability to quickly locate missing persons, assess dangerous terrain and guide rescue teams to their destination, from aerial surveillance and reconnaissance of dangerous terrain to mapping hazardous areas and providing real-time information to rescue teams.

Coordination of airborne assets with ground units is the difference between a successful mission and failure, and communication is key to a complete and thorough search. The course also covers coordinating ground-based responders and K9 teams, which act as a force multiplier in all searches.

The class is 30 percent classroom and 70 percent field work.

What you’ll learn

• Proper aircraft selection for SAR missions
• Sensors: RGB, thermal and night vision for detection, recognition and identification
• Ground-based searches
• Water-based searches
• Aerial search pattern selection and use
• Lost person behavior and searches
• Using coordinates and pinpoints to coordinate searches
• Aerial mapping for searches
• Cell-based detection systems in searches
• Artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in searches

Who it’s for

Agencies tasked with searches for people.

Prerequisites

Advanced class: students are expected to have completed a basic operations course (or equivalent).

What’s included

• Documentation for first responder continuing education credits