Greg Brownson: 37 years of rescue, time to hang up the helmet

After 37 years, Greg Brownson is handing back the keys to the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

"I'd like to think of myself as finishing on a high, rather than making a mistake or something." He says, "I'm 70 in January and it's definitely was the time (to finish)".

Brownson had his last operational flight last Sunday, but will still be found around the Ardmore Hangar doing operational support. He plans to cut back to just four days per week - "and I'll sweep the floor and stuff, which is pretty cool", he says.

Greg Brownson on his last mission in July 2020. Photo / Supplied

Brownson has had a few funny moments amid the serious stuff of saving people's lives, recalling attending a truck accident at Oniwhero.

"The ambulance officer said to me 'Greg, have a look and see how the driver's trapped'. I had a look inside and I thought, I know the driver's right leg is trapped, underneath the dash. But I can't see his left leg," said Brownson.

"So I said to the ambulance officer 'Has he already lost his left leg?' And the ambulance officer just smiled.

Greg Brownson Knows the Westpac Rescue Helictoper is in safe hands. Photo / Dean Purcell

"It wasn't 'til later – and I've met 'Hoppy' the truck driver a couple of times now – and he said he lost his left leg in a similar accident 40 years previously."

But it's a serious business, saving lives, and Brownson is confident he's leaving the rescue chopper in good hands.

"We've got some fantastic pilots, great paramedics, and now we have some fantastic doctors on board the helicopter. With the rescue crew and the air crew – a good team."

And he's cognisant of what their job is all about.

"We're not there for anything else but to get the patient from where they are to the hospital as fast as possible. And that's the whole goal we're here for."