Bandera State Airport Supports Law Enforcement and Search and Rescue Training

Photo curtesy of Peter Linde, King County Sheriff

The King County Sheriff Air Support and King County Search Dog Units conducted a joint training mission at Bander State Airport May 10.

Bandera State Airport, located along Interstate 90 east of North Bend at Exit 45 Forest Service Road 9030, provided space for aircrews to familiarize the dogs and their handler teams with operating in and around helicopters.

The training session allowed helicopter crews valuable training time with dogs within the helicopter setting to include actual hoist lifting operation practice.

King County has used Bandera State Airport many times over the years for this type of training and for actual lifesaving rescue operations. The airport is one of 15 State-Managed Airports commonly used for police and fire rescue training exercises.

For more information about how to request the use of a state-managed airport for training purposes, please contact the State-Airports Manager Paul Wolf at 360-618-2477 or wolfp@wsdot.wa.gov

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.