Pilot
Peter Yates – Chief Pilot
What made you join the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service?
Having worked in several countries I decided it was time to return to Australia and I wanted a challenging flying job. It also gave me a chance to give something back to the community.
What has been your most rewarding experience being involved in the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service?
Saving a life. It doesn’t matter what sort of rescue it is, just the fact that you have been instrumental in saving a life is very satisfying.
What is your favourite rescue story?
One that comes to mind was a rescue of a child who had fallen from a lookout in the Wollongong area. We were called just on dark and had to fly to Wollongong in bad weather to conduct the search. Once the patient was found there were several night winches required as well as several refuel stops. The mission took over eight hours to complete and the child was flown to a Sydney hospital where I believe he made full recovery. What was amazing was that he had fallen several hundred feet and survived.
With such a great view from the sky, what has been the most unusual thing that you have seen when on a surveillance flight?
One day, whilst flying up the Greater Sydney coastline I counted seven weddings being conducted in area of about 10 nautical miles. It seemed there was a wedding on every headland. The moral of the story is, if you are planning a wedding in Sydney, camp out and claim your spot!
If you could offer the beach going public one piece of advice, what would it be?
Respect the water; it can be a very powerful thing.
