MA State Police Airwing

The Massachusetts State Police Air Wing is a unit within the Department of State Police, which specializes in support of ground police operations through the use of its aircraft. The unit currently consists of 5 helicopters: four twin engine American Eurocopter AS355N Twin Star models, and one single engine AS350 Astar. The single engine Astar is the oldest in the fleet, and is used primarily as a training copter for newer pilots and autorotation drills. Autorotation is not practiced in the twin-engine aircraft because it is not endorsed by the factory due to the extremely miniscule odds associated with simultaneous catastrophic failure of both engines.

Autorotation is a condition where the main rotor is allowed to spin faster than the engine driving it. All helicopters are fitted with a free wheeling unit between the engine and the main rotor, usually in the transmission. The free wheeling unit will allow the engine to drive the rotors but not allow the rotors to turn the...