MCC AVIATION'S FIREFIGHTING AIRBUS H125 HELICOPTERS IN ACTION

The assignment was to capture one of three MCC Aviation owned Airbus H125 helicopters fighting a deliberately set grass fire in the southern Highveld area of Mpumalanga on a brisk winter's day.

- ATHOL FRANZ

The media team took off from Lanseria International Airport at 06h00 on Thursday 11 August in a Cessna C208 Caravan for the one hour direct flight to Warburton over the top of OR Tambo International Airport at 11 000 feet. As we got closer to the destination, it became clear why the region required aerial firefighting equipment due to the many commercial forests in the region.

MCC Aviation, a South African operator, has deployed three Airbus H125s in support of firefighting missions in this southern Highveld region of Mpumalanga, South Africa where almost 700,000 hectares of forestry and savanna are found. The H125's are part of the formidable Warburton based Umpiluzi Fire Protection Association (UFPA) which oversees upwards of 60 permanent fire fighters during the dry winter months. MCC Aviation selected the Airbus H125 because it is the most versatile helicopter in its class, best as a utility helicopter and as good as its competition within the VIP transport market. The Airbus H125 (formerly known as the AS350B3e) is a versatile platform capable of conducting a wide array of missions capable of the most rigorous hot and high missions, able to transport its own empty weight with an impressive sling capacity of 1,400 kg (3,086 lb).