Air 1, the Winnipeg Police Service helicopter (HANDOUT / FILE)
The Winnipeg police Air 1 helicopter spent less time in the sky last year assisting officers on the ground.
That’s just one statistic from a new report released Monday detailing the activities of the Flight Operations Unit.
Air 1 flew about 733 hours in 2016 — a decrease of 27 percent from 2015.
The number of calls requiring Air 1’s assistance also decreased last year by 35 percent from 2015.
Nearly 169 hours of flight time was also lost due to weather, maintenance and staffing. That’s an increase of 18 percent from 2015.
Police also noted in their report that they’ve seen an increase in the number of drones flying in controlled airspace. The WPS works with Nav Canada and Transport Canada to investigate such incidents.
The full report can be found below:
