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York Regional Police takes to skies with new $7.2M helicopter

VIDEO: Check out the new and improved Air2, which will replace YRP's current helicopter after 20 years and 20,000 hours of flying

York Regional Police has a new eye in the sky: a brand new $7.2-million Air2 helicopter. 

The launch of the new chopper, an Airbus H125, was celebrated at YRP's hangar at Buttonville Airport in Markham on March 20 before it took to the skies for a demo flight. 

The chopper has more power and endurance than the previous helicopter, can do double the flight time at four-and-half hours, requires less frequent maintenance, and has improved night vision, augmented mapping and a public address and siren system. 

"It’s a significant advancement for our organization as we continue to build and evolve our air support unit and our air assets," said Chief Jim MacSween. 

However, the new helicopter is not any quieter than the current one. 

YRP first began flying with a pilot project in 2000 using a donated helicopter. The project was successful and the board approved the purchase of a helicopter in 2002. 

"Since then, Air2 has significantly helped our officers keep the peace, protect life and property and catch the bad guys,” MacSween said. 

That helicopter lasted for 20 years, and after 20,000 hours of flight time, it will now be retired. It will eventually be decommissioned and sold but the chief said that process has not yet begun as they want to ensure the new one is perfect before that happens. 

Air2's work involves traffic enforcement, locating missing persons and apprehending suspects. 

In 2022 alone, the current helicopter supported 1,373 calls for service, assisted 266 traffic stops and located 15 missing and vulnerable people, assisted in making 213 arrests for impaired driving, street racing, breaking and entering and more. 

"The fact of the matter is you can do a lot more with a helicopter than you can with boots on the ground, not to say that those members on the ground aren’t doing their jobs, we just have the ability with these platforms to support them a little bit more," said acting Staff Sgt. Jeremy Beatty from the air support unit. 

He said the work the unit does is incredibly meaningful. 

"A missing person returned to their family isn’t just a number to us. That’s a huge impact on that family, the people around them and the community in general to know that these resources are there to support them in their time of need," he said. 

The new helicopter has yet to be introduced for frontline service but it has undergone many test flights and MacSween said it is very close to being ready for regular service. 

He said he is expecting this one will last another 20 years. 



Elizabeth Keith

About the Author: Elizabeth Keith

Elizabeth Keith is a general assignment reporter. She graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2017. Elizabeth is passionate about telling local stories and creating community.
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