ASTREA is an acronym for Aerial Support To Regional Enforcement Agencies, the air support unit of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Each airship is designated by the name ASTREA and a number, for example: "ASTREA 1". ASTREA Base is located at Gillespie Field Airport (IATA: SEE, ICAO: KSEE) in El Cajon, California.
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1972 - ASTREA began operations with three Korean War-era Bell 47G helicopters based at Gillespie Field in El Cajon.
1997 - On February 16, Deputy Patrick "Pat" S. Coyle, 42, died after the ASTREA helicopter in which he and pilot Ron Hobson were flying crashed in Sycamore Canyon, northeast of Santee, California. His death marked the first fatality in the then 25-year history of the sheriff's air support unit.
2003 - Cedar Fire and Paradise Fire
2005 - ASTREA receives two refurbished Bell 205A1++ "Super Huey" firefighting helicopters. These are the first two aircraft purchased for the new regional fire helicopter program the county started after the October 2003 wildfires. Both are single-engine, medium-lift copters equipped with 375 gallon underbelly water tanks. The helicopters arrived at Gillespie Field after a three-day, 2,000-mile flight from Eagle Copters of Calgary, Canada.
2008 - A new Bell 407 is acquired and equipped to support law enforcement and command and control missions.
2009 - ASTREA sells two of its Hughes 500Ds. (ASTREA 2 & 4) These will eventually be replaced with MD 530Fs.
2010 - The only MD500E owned by ASTREA is converted to an MD530F, which is better suited for high altitude and hot weather operations.
As of 2010, ASTREA's fleet consists of 7 helicopters:
| Aircraft Type | Make / Model / (Qty) | Unit / No. | Tail No. | Serial No. (C/N) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicopter - law enforcement* | Hughes 500D (1) | ASTREA 5 | N5108E | 811075D |
| MD 530F (3) | ASTREA 1 | N131TZ | 0142FF | |
| ASTREA 6 | N535WK | 0138FF | ||
| ASTREA 3
(Previously "E" Model) |
N150JD | 0710FF (was 0545E) | ||
| Bell 407 (1) | None | N958TR | 53770 | |
| Helicopter - firefighting | Bell 205A1++ (2) | ASTREA 10 | N449RC | 30121 |
| ASTREA 12 | N107BZ | 30013 |