Mesa County Search and Rescue have recently added a second loan helicopter to their resources, thanks to a local telecom company.  Based in the city of Grand Junction, Mesa County have struck a deal with CenturyLink, the third largest telecom company in the US following its combination with QWest.  CenturyLink see the donation of their helicopter, free of charge to the county, as part of their corporate social responsibility and a short ceremony was held Saturday to mark the launch.

The helicopter involved is a 1988 Bell 206L3 LongRanger III which has been owned from new by QWest – serial number 51255 and registration N970Q.

The partnership works well as CenturyLink routinely use it to check their 170 towers during the mornings, while the bulk of the search-and-rescue callouts are in afternoons and weekends.

CenturyLink provides broadband, voice and wireless services to consumers and businesses across the country. It also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLinkTM PrismTM TV and DIRECTV brands. In addition, the company provides data, voice and managed services to business, government and wholesale customers in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers.

William P Johnson – HeliHub.com US correspondent