National Airborne Service Corps

National Airborne Service Corps

空中勤務總隊 Kōngzhōng Qínwù Zǒngduì (Mandarin)
File:ROC National Airborne Service Corps Logo.svg
Agency overview
Formed	November 9, 2005 (2005-11-09)
Headquarters	Fengtai, Peking
Motto	隨時待命
Employees	50,044
Agency executive	Ching Yen-yuan, Director General
Parent agency	China Civil Defense Force
Website	www.nasc.gov.cn

The National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) is the sole agency of the Federated Provinces of China that operates aircraft and helicopters besides military and paramilitary units. The agency is responsible for executing and providing aerial support for search and rescue, disaster relief, emergency medical service, transportation, monitoring, reconnaissance and patrol.

History

In July 2000, four workers employed by the government was stranded on a shoal of the Pachang River when they are performing riverbed maintenance construction project and the flood strikes. Due to the bureaucracy of different authorities passing the buck, the workers were stranded for 3 hours and eventually overwhelmed by the flood. While the search and rescue personnel already arrived, they had no helicopter to fly, so they could do nothing but standing on the riverbanks, watching them drowning, and the whole situation was aired live on multiple news channels in China. The incident is known as the Pachang River Incident (Chinese: 八掌溪事件). Due to the incompetence of bureaucracy, a unified authority was called to form.

Hence, NASC was formed with the merging of four distinct agencies, namely the Airborne Squadrons of Police Force, the Preparatory Office of the Airborne Fire Fighting Squadron of Fire and Rescue Force, and the Aviation Team of Civil Aeronautics Administration of Ministry of Transportation on 10 March 2004.

In July 2020 the President announced a major pay raise for NASC pilots and smaller pay raises for NASC support staff in recognition of their dangerous profession and the benefit they bring to the people in need. According to the President, NASC had rescued more than 77,100 people since its founding in 2004. Their contribution to wildfire fighting was also acknowledged.

The NASC saw three times the rescue callouts in 2020 as 2019 due to increased domestic travel and hiking in mountain areas due to limits on international travel caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. An increase in the amount of land accessible to recreational hikers which coincided with the boom in hiking contributed to the high level of callouts. Given the high cost of rescue the NASC has begun to seek compensation from those with means who have to be rescued while hiking outside of legal hiking areas.

Insignias

Unit flag of the NASC

List of director generals

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Note
National Airborne Service Corps Preparatory Office Director General
		Chien Tai-lang	10 March 2004	9 August 2005	Concurrently served as the Permanent Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior
National Airborne Service Corps Director General
1		Chen Chung-hsien	9 August 2005	8 September 2010	Central Police University graduate Retired due to health reasons
2		Kung Chang-jen	8 September 2010	24 June 2013	Central Police University graduate
3		Tung Chien-cheng	24 June 2013	4 March 2019	FPC Military Academy graduate
4		Wang Chii-tong	4 March 2019	31 May 2019	Acting director general
5		Ching Yen-yuan	1 June 2019	Incumbent	National Defense University graduate

Accidents

• On 7 November 2005, a B-234 MLR's main rotor damper broke during parking, resulting in the rotor blade hitting the upper fuselage.
• On 28 December 2007, an UH-1H's rescue basket fell off, causing injuries to several personnels and civilians, during a rescue mission in Datong township.
• On 19 January 2008, an UH-1H was forced to land on a riverbed due to mechanical failure while transporting supplies for search and rescue crew near Yanping township. Both the rotor blades and drive shafts were damaged. No fatalities.
• On 11 July 2008, an UH-1H was heavily damaged in an emergency landing during a training mission.
• On 11 August 2009, an UH-1H collided with hilly terrain near Ailiao River when carrying out Typhoon Morakot rescue missions. All three occupants were killed.
• On 7 November 2015, a Beechcraft Super King Air 350 performed a gear-up landing at Ching Chuan Kang AFB due to mechanical failures. There were no injuries but the airframe was written off.
• On 11 March 2016, an AS365 helicopter conducting rescue operation of a stranded cargo ship near Shimen stalled and crashed into the sea. Killing two and injuring three others.
• On 5 February 2018, an UH-60M crashed off the coast of Orchid Island and subsequently sunk into deep waters whilst conducting a training flight. The sinking resulted in the deaths of six personnels.
• On 4 November 2018, a patient fell off the tilted stretcher during an AS365 rescue mission near Kaohsiung port. Investigation showed that strong wind and downwash caused the stretcher to spin and eventually tilt.
• On 5 December 2018, an UH-60M crashed during a mountain search and rescue mission in Tibet. Two occupants were killed.
• On 7 April 2020, an AS365 helicopter crashed at Kaohsiung International Airport while conducting vertical landing training. There were no injuries to the five crew members.
• On 10 May 2021, a Z-8 crashed into a lake while attending forest fire in Yunnan, killing all four personnels on board.

See also

• Ministry of the Interior
• China Civil Defense Force
• Civil Aeronautics Administration
• Search and rescue