Falling in love with Dubai... from the air [video]

Ever felt what it is to soar in the sky like an eagle?

Emirates 24|7 got an opportunity - courtesy of the Dubai Police Air Wing - to see Dubai with the eyes of an eagle. We soared through the skies, flirted with the buildings and skimmed above the shoreline, to get one of the most amazing views of our world.

The view from sky is a different experience. It is breathtaking. It so beautiful that one can’t find proper words to describe it. We all have flown many times in a plane, but the helicopter experience is completely different.

The way the pilot contrlsl the speed and the elevation, was amazing. For me, Dubai is the  most beautiful city... but seeing it from the sky made me fall again in love with its beauty.

But the idea behind the flight was serious - it was to let Emirates 24|7 know how quickly Dubai Air Wing can get their helicopters into the skies and to the site for any emergency rescue - thus saving lives.

An air rescue drill in operation.

Dubai Air Wing was established back in the year 1987. At that time, it had only three helicopters and three foreign pilots.

Today, the Air Wing has five helicopters, with five more additional helicopters to join the fleet by the end of this year to meet the rapid growth in the development and population that the emirate is witnessing. It also has 22 Emirati pilots, all of them graduated from Australia and were trained here in the emirate.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, Brigadier Pilot Abdullah Al Shehi, head of Dubai Police Air Wing said that the Air Wing of Dubai Police is has many responsibilities, but its main responsibility is the quick transportation of injured people from different types of accidents to the hospitals.

“We also conducts two routine rounds all over the emirate to monitor the traffic, as well as check for weird and suspicious things from the sky.”

Dubai Air Wing in Action

Brigadier Al Shehi added that last year, the section has conducted 1,127 missions. “We rescued 62 Asians and 26 Emiratis who were involved in different types of accidents or needed help. These involves all types of car, motorbikes, work injuries, falling from height, and others.”

He pointed out that this year, from January to February, the Air Wing helped in rescuing injured people in 18 different accidents.

“The major difficulty which we face is landing in crowded areas like Al Qouz and the Industrial areas. Sometimes, we get called to transport injured people from such crowded areas, and it is very difficult to land the helicopter because of the crowds which gather to see.

"However, we managed to overcome this problem by making the police patrols who reach the accident spot before us more aware on how to prepare these area before we arrive and land.”

He added that they also face hard times with the injured people as most of them are too noisy and they disturb them from doing their job.
 

“Most of them are too noisy and they try to get up from their seats and stand in the helicopter. This is dangerous as it can result in serious consequences and can harm them and also harm us. Thus, we started fastening a belt on all the injured people before flying the helicopters to the hospitals,” he said.

Dubai Police Air Wing also helps all the northern emirates. “We are part of Dubai Police, but whenever other emirates call us for help, we go and help. We were involved in rescuing many injured victims of accidents in areas which is difficult for normal police patrols to reach.”

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