MSP gives 7News up close look at air wing unit

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (WHDH) -- State police showed 7News the helicopter used to locate two boys missing in a Halifax swamp last month.

“This is state of the art, not many departments have this aircraft we have,” said Trooper John Pina, Massachusetts State Police.

“Between the infrared and the laser sighting and laser calculations, there's nothing better,” said Trooper John Costa, Massachusetts State Police.

The technology is all integrated and moves as a single unit, which cuts down on the time it takes to find a target on the ground.

There’s also a cell phone inside the aircraft. It proved crucial in the Halifax rescue. One of the boys had a cell phone and managed to communicate with Costa.

Once the troopers managed to establish communication with the two boys on the ground, they used infrared, managed to find them, and then could see them on the screens inside the chopper.

“We basically told them to come alive we walked the night sun into the kids,” Trooper Costa said. “And then pinpointed them once we squeezed the trigger it calculates their exact location.”

Even though the crew managed to find the boys within minutes, Trooper Pina, who piloted the chopper, knew they were up against the clock.

“It's stressful for me because I'm watching. Trooper Costa’s getting the flare and he’s working everything, but I’m fuel, weight, wind; so my clock is ticking,” Trooper Pina said.

But it didn't take long to direct Halifax officers on the ground to the lost boys, and the crew witnessed a successful mission from the sky.