Saving Lives, Together.
Our aim is simple – to save lives.
Your rescue helicopter can be airborne in 10 minutes and, in a life or death situation, this speed and agility can make all the difference, with patients able to receive medical treatment whilst en route to a medical facility. The timely assistance that rescue helicopters provide can reduce disability and improve survival. The sooner treatment begins, the greater the chance of patient recovery.
Philips Search & Rescue Trust (PSRT) is the charity responsible for fundraising and promotion of the North Island’s largest pool of community rescue helicopters.
Encompassing a fleet of rescue helicopters and fixed-wing planes, the service provides air health and rescue services free of charge to the public on a no-fault basis.
The rapid response is powered by an expert crew of Pilots, Crewmen, Intensive Care Paramedics, Doctors, Flight Nurses, and Specialist Crew.
In a life and death situation, it is this speed and agility that can make all the difference, with patients able to receive medical treatment whilst en route to a medical facility.
Dispatched through the 111-call system, our rapid response rescue helicopters bring life-saving equipment, rescue personnel, with full-time Flight Paramedic workforce, all experienced Intensive Care Paramedics (ICP) directly to the patient.
Always rescue ready, your rescue helicopter is an essential emergency service in your community.
Your rescue helicopter can be called to any of the following missions:
- Search and rescue missions
- Operations requiring a winch
- Night operations
- Time-critical inter-hospital transfers
- Armed Offender Squad / Land Search and Rescue / NZ Fire
When needed, your rescue helicopter will be there, 24/7, 365 days a year.
Westpac Air Ambulance
Philips Search & Rescue Trust (PSRT) is the charity responsible for fundraising and promotion of the nationally recognised Westpac Air Ambulance, an accredited provider of Level 1 and 2 aero-medical transport services.
Flying bedside to bedside, the highly experienced medical crew can accommodate up to two patients, non-stop, to any location in New Zealand.
Find out more at westpacairambulance.org.nz
Philips Search and Rescue Trust all began with one single act of compassion.
In 1985, two senior Philips executives and a pilot lost their lives in a light aircraft accident, just south of Turangi. Philips instigated at that time, what was and probably still is, New Zealand’s largest privately organised search, which eventually found the lost aircraft.
After their loss, it became apparent to Philips that if a rescue service had been available, their executives and pilot may have survived. So, as a legacy to the country, Philips endowed what was to become Philips Search and Rescue Trust (PSRT), with the objective of providing the highest possible standard of air rescue and emergency helicopters to serve the people of the central North Island and wider areas of New Zealand.
Flight operations commenced in 1985, with a single-engine, part-time helicopter based in Taupo, which quickly gained a reputation as an effective operational unit, particularly within the specialist search and rescue field.
In October 1987, PSRT was made a dedicated, full-time rescue service, and is now the charity responsible for the North Island’s largest group of rescue helicopters.
Over 30 years on from that fatal flight, PSRT continues to provide rescue helicopter services, free of charge to patients, funded largely by the communities we operated in.
Over 35,000 people owe their lives to PSRT rescue helicopters.

Diane Laatz
Intensive Care Paramedic

Rob Michel
Intensive Care Paramedic

Steven Mair
Intensive Care Paramedic

Michael Lowe
Intensive Care Paramedic

Dave Helliwell
Crewman

Hugo Goodson
Intensive Care Paramedic

Paul Aitken
Pilot

Muir Wallace
Medical Director

Spence Putwain
Pilot

Mo Shaik
Crewman

Stu Callow
Crewman

Dave Jackson
Crewman

Rick Elms
Intensive Care Paramedic

Tony Hohepa
Intensive Care Paramedic

Andy Windle
Intensive Care Paramedic

Brody Macbeth
Intensive Care Paramedic

Loren Haisley
Pilot

Barry Vincent
VFR Chief Pilot

Grant Bremner
Chief Pilot

Dan Harcourt
Pilot

Charlie Beetham
Pilot

Bill McNeilly
Base Manager/Crewman

Simon Burrows
Intensive Care Paramedic

Byron Hodge
Crewman

Kelley Waite
Crewman

Liam Brettkelly
Base Manager/Pilot

Todd Dunham
Pilot

Hendry de Waal
Pilot

Iain Gulliford
Crewman

Dave Harrison
Intensive Care Paramedic

Gillian Gates
Intensive Care Paramedic

Simon Miller
Pilot

Nigel Bryant
Intensive Care Paramedic

Bernie McQueen
Pilot

Aeron Mellish
Crewman

Nat Every
Base Manager/Pilot

Mark Bond
Crewman

Rob Keating
Intensive Care Paramedic

Tony More
Intensive Care Paramedic

Libbie Faith
Crewman

Pete Masters
Pilot

Ben Riley
Intensive Care Paramedic

Ross Murrell
Pilot

Chris Moody
Chief Operating Officer

Lance Burns
Pilot

Graeme Spiers
Base Manager/Crewman

Neil Chappell
Crewman

Felicity Lallier
Intensive Care Paramedic

David Wickham
Secretary

Errol Millar
Executive Chairman

Terry Burcher
Trustee

Patricia Bayley
Trustee

Stewart Davies
Trustee

Samantha Leuthart-Tomlinson
Fundraising Assistant/Intern

Alex Paley
Marketing Assistant/Intern

Jenna Irwin
Administrator

Whitney Smith
Fundraising Manager

Jex Moore
Fundraiser

Angela Cranfield
Administration Manager

Kate Turley
Marketing Assistant

Sharni Weir
Marketing Manager

Vanessa Richmond
Group Manager Fundraising, Marketing & Communications

Patricia Parsons
Patient and Donor Communications
We Need You
Your rescue helicopter can be airborne in 10 minutes and, in a life or death situation, this speed and agility can make all the difference. The timely assistance that rescue helicopters provide can reduce disability and improve survival – the sooner treatment begins, the greater chance of patient recovery.
We are partially funded by a government contract with National Ambulance Sector Office (NASO). We rely heavily on the generosity of sponsors and the community to help fund the shortfall that allows us to be rescue ready 24/7, 365 days of the year. This crucial financial support ensures our rescue helicopter can continue to bring life-saving equipment, rescue personnel, and intensive care paramedics directly to the patient.
Without your support, your rescue helicopter would not be able to remain operational on a 24/7, 365 day a year basis. This could mean a serious delay in people being rescued or transported to hospital for urgent treatment.
Support your rescue helicopter and make a lifesaving difference.
Saving Lives, Together.