About this course

This approximately 1 hour program covers foundational safety and operational considerations for working with helicopters as a SAR responder.

This course was fully revised in October 2021, and is presented now for free with a completion certificate. It qualifies for the NASAR Basic Aviation Safety or equivalent certificate prerequisite, and awards 1.0 Colorado EMS CE hours. 


Principle videography for this course was conducted on SAR missions and trainings in southwest Colorado.

Course curriculum

  • 01

    Preparation & Hazards Around The Helicopter

    • FREE ENROLLMENT & CERTIFICATE INFO

    • Welcome & Disclaimers

    • Preparing to work with the helicopter

    • Safe approach procedures & tail rotor hazards

    • Main rotor & skid hazards

  • 02

    Deployment: Riding in the Helicopter

    • Deploying by Helicopter

    • Older style eurocopter harness

    • Crash procedures

  • 03

    Landing Zone Operations

    • LZ selection & setup

    • LZ radio communications

  • 04

    Beyond the Basics

    • Special Helicopter Rescue Techniques

    • Risk and resource utilization with helicopter operations

    • ADS-B tracking & fixed wing aviation in SAR

  • 05

    Supplemental Materials, Downloads and Interactive Activities

    • Supplemental Materials: References, Case Reports and Learning Resources

    • Downloadable LZ Reference Card

    • Interactive Activities

  • 06

    More From Base Medical

    • SAR online learning

    • EMS Continuing Education

    • 100% Online Recertification for WFA & WFR

    • In-person Wilderness Medicine Courses

    • Live-remote Wilderness Medicine Courses

    • Teach With Us

  • 07

    Quiz

    • Exam

What others have to say about this course:

Dan Manzano

5 star rating

“Thanks Base-Medical for this online training, your information is very relevant for SAR Teams from anywhere in the world. Greetings from New Zealand ”

“Thanks Base-Medical for this online training, your information is very relevant for SAR Teams from anywhere in the world. Greetings from New Zealand ”

Read Less

Tod Schimelpfenig

5 star rating

“”

Ivo Kolchakov

5 star rating

“Excellent”

“Excellent”

Read Less

ercument kocabas

3 star rating

“thanks”

“thanks”

Read Less

Bart Sherman

5 star rating

“”

Troy Paul

5 star rating

“Informative ”

“Informative ”

Read Less

Elise Lowe

5 star rating

“simple straightforward introduction”

“simple straightforward introduction”

Read Less

Dan Green

5 star rating

“Enjoyed the course, well put together, lots of content, and good quiz at the end that had randomized questions. Learned quite a few new things. Thanks for making this available.”

“Enjoyed the course, well put together, lots of content, and good quiz at the end that had randomized questions. Learned quite a few new things. Thanks for making this available.”

Read Less

Adam Smith

5 star rating

“Good course, very informative”

“Good course, very informative”

Read Less

BURCAK TURKAY

5 star rating

“You learn what you don't know. It shares what you need to pay attention to and potential risks with real examples. Very successful.”

“You learn what you don't know. It shares what you need to pay attention to and potential risks with real examples. Very successful.”

Read Less

Joseph Villasista

5 star rating

“All the pertinent information ”

“All the pertinent information ”

Read Less

Jonathan Rankine

5 star rating

“Great review for experienced Responders and great information for new SAR Responders ”

“Great review for experienced Responders and great information for new SAR Responders ”

Read Less