A life in the air
Johnny Haora loves serving the community he grew up in.
Raised in Whangārei Heads, his father Ray was involved in the agriculture aviation sector throughout Northland as Operations Manager for James Aviation, so it was inevitable that Johnny’s interest would start young.
But ironically, he did his time as a builder before embarking on his helicopter licence, while training at Dairy Flat, north of Auckland, and at Taupo.
Thirty years later he landed at the Northland Rescue Helicopter base in Whangārei and has loved his first ten months.
“I had been flying overseas and had an opportunity to join Northern Rescue Helicopter Limited when they had a position become available,” says Johnny.
“It’s great to be able to contribute as part of a small team providing essential services to the community which I grew up in.
“For me, the most important part of my work is that the safety of the crew, patients and aircraft come first and foremost, along with a high priority on providing the best air ambulance / EMS service possible.
“I had previously worked throughout both the North and South Island’s on various types of flying including scenic flights, filming, firefighting, heliskiing, construction and powerline operations. More recently I’ve been touring to countries such as Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea working in a variety of projects – mainly involved in mining, oil and gas.”
As a result, Johnny has had plenty of career highlights.
“I have been lucky to have the opportunity to fly and experience some amazing places in NZ and abroad, meet and work with some great people and had the privilege of being exposed to cultures that very few people get to experience.
Johnny has clocked up around 10,000 hours flight time and says he plans to stay fit and healthy and keep flying for as long as possible.
Life in an air ambulance service is challenging and rewarding according to Johnny and he encourages youngsters to look at a career in the sector.
