Welcome to the Austin Police Department Air Support Unit. Please take the time to look through our website and learn more about our unit and its personnel.
The unit assists APD officers on the ground in patrol and support missions during the day and night. Additionally, a crew is on-call and available to respond to incidents on a twenty-four hour basis.
The Air Support Unit currently consists of seven senior police officers, one sergeant, and one lieutenant. All unit members makeup the aircrew with a mixture of pilots and tactical flight officers. Patrol missions are flown with at least one pilot and one tactical flight officer onboard the aircraft. All unit pilots are dual rated in both fixed wing airplanes and rotor wing helicopters. The unit is constantly in a state of training to ensure that the aircrew stays on the leading edge of tactics, emergency procedures, technology, and many other aspects that encompass the airborne law enforcement and public safety missions that the unit flies.
The Air Support Unit supports APD officers on the ground through patrol and support missions during the day and night. Additionally, an aircrew is on-call and available to respond to any incident 24 hours a day.
The unit currently operates the following aircraft:
- Airbus AS350b3 (2013) – Patrol, search and rescue, and fire fighting
- Airbus EC120b (2001) – Patrol only
- Bell 206b3 (1994) – Training only
- Cessna 182P (1973) – Transports only
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