General Inspectorate of Aviation (Romania)

The General Inspectorate of Aviation (Romanian: Inspectoratul General de Aviație - IGAv) (formerly Special Aviation Unit - Unitatea Specialǎ de Aviație) is Ministry of Internal Affairs's air component. The unit was initially established in 1948, but restructured in 1978. It has its overall headquarters at Aurel Vlaicu International Airport and operates five territorial flights in Bucharest, Caransebeș, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Tulcea. The current General Inspector is Air Flotilla General Cătălin-Paul Dache.

General Inspectorate of Aviation
Coat of arms of the Inspectorate
Active20 December 1948
CountryRomania
Part ofMinistry of Internal Affairs
HQAurel Vlaicu International Airport
EquipmentMi-8/Mi-17/EC-135/IAR 316B
Commanders
General InspectorAir Flotilla General Cătălin-Paul Dache

History

Following the Second World War, it was decided to form an aviation structure that can serve the civil society. In this sense, the Air Transport Flotilla was established on 20 December 1948 at the Dudești-Cioplea airfield. Between 1949 and 1960, the unit was based on the Popești-Leordeni aerodrome, then it was moved to the Otopeni airport until 1973. From 1979 on, it is located at the Aurel Vlaicu International Airport.[1]

On 1 May 2008, the unit was reorganized by establishing the Aviation Inspectorate and four special aviation units subordinate to it located in Bucharest, Cluj Napoca, Iași, and Tulcea. Starting from 15 May the same year, the unit became operational.[1]

Missions

Structure and equipment

Besides the five Special Aviation units (located in Bucharest, Caransebeș, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Tulcea), the Inspectorate also has a Training and Development Detachment located in Bucharest (Detașamentul de Instruire şi Perfecționare București), and an Aeromedical Detachment (Detașamentul Aeromedical).[2][3]

Aeromedical Detachment

The Aeromedical Detachment, is a structure subordinated to the General Inspectorate of Aviation tasked with humanitarian life-saving missions. It performs flight missions as the air operator of the SMURD.[3]

The SMURD HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical System) bases are led by commanders appointed by the General Inspector of the General Aviation Inspectorate, while the personnel who perform the on-call service for the intervention are designated by the cooperating structures.[3]

Equipment
A Mil Mi-8 of the IGAv at the Bucharest International Air Show 2018

Over the course of its history, the aviation structure operated various types of aircraft: Ju-52, Lockheed 10, Fiesler Storch, Fleet 10, Po-2, Klemm Kl 25, Klemm Kl 35, Heinkel 111, Bücker Jungmeister, Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun, RWD 8, RWD 13, RWD-14, Aero L-60 Brigadýr, Aero 45, Li-2, An-2, and BN-2.[1] Currently, there are 4 types of helicopters and 2 airplanes in service:[4]

TypeNotes
Helicopters
Eurocopter EC135Used by IGAv; also operated for SMURD
IAR 316B2 in service
Mil Mi-82 in service
Mil Mi-173 in service[5]
Airplanes
Piper PA-42 CheyenneOne operated for SMURD
Cessna Citation VOne operated for SMURD
Learjet 75Two operated for SMURD[6]

Since 2021, six S-70M Black Hawk built by PZL Mielec are to be delivered. A total of 12 Black Hawks desired.[7]

References
  1. "Istoric". aviatie.mai.gov.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. "Detașamentul de Instruire şi Perfecționare București". aviatie.mai.gov.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. "Detașamentul Aeromedical". aviatie.mai.gov.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  4. "Aeronave din dotare". aviatie.mai.gov.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  5. Raport de activitate (PDF) (Report) (in Romanian). IGAv. 2019. p. 7.
  6. Cele două ambulanțe aeriene Learjet 75 au ajuns în România. Aviatie Magazin (Report) (in Romanian). 1 September 2023.
  7. "Demonstrație a primului Black Hawk S-70M destinat României (Video). Elicopterul urmează să fie livrat MAI". Defense Romania (in Romanian). 8 September 2022.
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