The Czech Air Force (CzAF) presently operates ten PZL W-3A Sokol ('Falcon') helicopters, which were delivered to the air arm in the mid-1990s. There were 11 originally, but one was destroyed in a crash on February 12, 2001, with the crew seriously injured. The helicopters serve the 243rd Helicopter Squadron (Vrtulnikova Letka) at Kbely air base although not all of the aircraft are based there. One of the main tasks of the CzAF's W-3As is the transportation of personnel, particularly for shorter distances, although the bulk of their time mainly concerns search and rescue (SAR) and medevac operations. Five are based at Plzen Line airport, where two are on alert for a 24-hour air rescue service, often as a civilian air ambulance and painted in a red and white colour scheme. Another is based at Bechyne. There is also a SAR detachment at Kbely, but these helicopters are in a camouflaged scheme. Two are regularly seen on the flight line at any one time.
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