The Aviation Magazine No 52 September-October 2017 | Page 32
The Carabineros connection with aviation started in June 1948 when the Club Aéreo de Carabineros was
formed. The Aero Club received in August 1949 its first aircraft, a Cessna145, the 145hp Warner Super
Scarab radial piston engined version of the Cessna C‐34 Airmaster. Four years later, in 1953, it was decide d
to see if it would be possible to integrate aircraft into police operations. Thus the Aero Club became in‐
volved in police air operations mostly using its Cessna 170s and continued to function as the Carabineros
air arm until 17 February 1960 when the Brigada Aeropolicial was established to conduct aerial police work.
The unit operated solely fixed‐wing aircraft, mostly Cessnas, for almost a decade because the first two heli‐
copters, Fairchild Hiller FH‐1100, were acquired in 1969. The Museo Histórico Carabineros de Chile counts
amongst its exhibits a Hughes 300, CC‐KKO/C‐03, which, although shown in the colours of the Brigada Aer‐
opolicial, was acquired by the Aero Club.
On 24 April 1972 the Brigada Aeropolicial was transformed into the Prefectura Aérea de Carabineros de
Chile, a separate specialist branch within the Corps. This re‐organisation, with separate fixed‐wing and heli‐
copter sections, was due to ever‐increasing and expanding roles of the unit which was now performing pa‐
trol, search and rescue, traffic observation, forest observation, medical transport and disaster relief opera‐
tions all over the Chilean national territory.
Today the Prefectura Aérea operates a modern mixed fixed‐wing and rotary‐wing fleet which includes:
Helicopters
T he green‐uniformed Carabineros de Chile in 2017 celebrated their 90th anniversary of their official
founding. There were other watch and local policing organisations in Chile, the earliest possibly being
the Dragones de la Reina (Queen's Dragoons) created in 1758. Such local police organisations reported
to the local authorities and not the central government. After various instances where the local officials
abused this power for their own political ends, it was decided to have one unified, paramilitary and na‐
tional security institution under the direction of the national government.
The Carabineros de Chile, being a gendarmerie‐type police corps, reported until 2011 to the Ministry of
National Defence. Six years ago their control was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior and Public
Security, which thus became responsible for all the Chilean police forces which also include the Investi‐
gations Police of Chile and the Maritime Police. Although fully separated from the other three military
branches (Army, Navy and Air Force) and reporting to the civilian authorities, the Carabineros are still
considered a part of the armed forces.
Fixed Wing
Agusta A109E Power
AgustaWestland AW139
Bell 206 Jet Ranger
Bölkow Kawasaki BK‐117
Eurocopter EC135P2+
Messerschmitt‐Bölkow‐Blohm Bö105
Beechcraft Raytheon 200 Super King Air
Cessna U206B Super Skywagon
Cessna C‐210N Centurion II
Cessna T‐210 Centurion
Cessna 550 Citation Bravo
Piper 31 Navajo
Piper 31T Cheyenne I
Most of these aircraft types can be seen at Santiago‐Tobalaba where the Prefectura Aérea and also the
Aero Club are based and where maintenance is performed as well. More aircraft are operated by sections
spread over seven police zones throughout Chile.
A helicopter closely associated with the Carabineros is the Messerschmitt‐Bölkow‐Blohm Bö105, which en‐
tered operations with the Prefectura Aérea on October 1, 1976. Up to that time helicopter operations were
performed by the Hughes 300 and the FH‐1100 . However, these small helicopters were quite limited in ca‐
pability and performance to meet the demanding task of fast Aeromedical Rescue in the high altitudes and
often adverse weather conditions met in the Chilean highlands.