‘Calm in Chaos’: Elevating Florida’s aviation unit with the Airbus H125

Long before he saw Central Florida from the skies in an Airbus helicopter, a teenage Steve Farris learned how to serve his community from the passenger seat of a patrol car.

Farris is from Seminole County, Florida, a 220,000-acre county located between Orlando and the Atlantic Coast. It’s a mix of suburban sprawl and protected wilderness, with dense pines and deep marshes dampened by the St. Johns River.

It was 1989, and while other kids were finding their footing in high school, Farris was spending his free time riding the night shift alongside Seminole County sheriff’s deputies. Immediately immersed in the adrenaline that comes with working in law enforcement, he uncovered something unexpected in himself: an innate ability - despite the high stakes of police work - to possess a profound “sense of calm within the chaos,” he says. He knew right away that he wanted a career serving Seminole County in law enforcement.

Paving a career in law enforcement

Decades and a promotion to lieutenant later, Farris now serves as the Chief Pilot and Aviation Section Commander for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It’s fitting, he says, as a fifth-generation Floridian whose roots run deep in the area’s aviation history. His grandfather once directed the county’s airspace as an air traffic controller when the nearby Sanford airport was a Navy base.

When the agency acquired its first military surplus helicopters in 1996, Farris didn’t wait for an invitation to join. He tracked the aircraft down, introduced himself to the newly hired pilots, and talked his way into a spot as an observer. By 1999, he was in the cockpit full-time. "That's really two careers in one: aviation and law enforcement combined," Farris says. "It has been the dream job."

Steve Farris, Chief Pilot and Aviation Section Commander for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office

Building an all-Airbus helicopter fleet for critical missions

The unit has transformed dramatically since those early days, Farris says, in part thanks to Airbus Helicopters. In 2006, the agency modernised, transitioning to an all-Airbus fleet. Over the last two decades, the 10-person aviation team has logged 20,000 flight hours in Airbus helicopters. Operating around the clock and flying roughly 1,000 hours annually, the unit functions as a force multiplier for deputies thwarting crime below. "Some will argue one helicopter there with two deputies in it is like 20 officers covering that area because of what we can see and our presence," Farris says.

Seminole County Sheriff's Office crew

In 2025 alone, the Aviation Section’s two ALERT helicopters responded to nearly 1,400 calls for service, which underscores how vital the unit is to its community. While the vast majority of these requests - 965 in total - originated from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, the team frequently assisted local municipalities, answering 167 calls for the Sanford Police Department and 46 for the Altamonte Springs Police Department.

Acting as a critical eye in the sky during tense pursuits and investigations, the pilots and their Airbus H125s supported 104 arrests, conducted 44 dedicated surveillance missions, and assisted in the recovery of nine stolen vehicles.

Airbus H125 in action with Seminole County Sheriff's Office

Yet, the most critical work often unfolds over Seminole County's dense wilderness trails and waterways. Farris recalled a recent mission where a father and daughter were separated while kayaking. Ground units secured the teenager, but her father had vanished into the terrain. "We wound up finding him and being the first there and hoisted him out, and he was just so happy," Farris says. "Imagine losing your teenage daughter down the stream. That’s the difference our aviation unit makes in our community. We help save lives.”

During another call for service, a man wandered away from his friends at a local spring, vanishing into the woods for days. By the time ground crews reached him, severe dehydration and exhaustion made a hike out impossible. The aviation unit lowered a hoist into the dense canopy, extracting him so he could receive immediate medical care. In fact, in 2025 alone, the unit helped locate 96 individuals, including 30 missing persons whose safe return depended on a swift aerial response.

Seminole County Sheriff's Office hoisting victim

Executing these precision, high-stakes extractions - often with a pilot, crew chief, rescue swimmer, and a victim crowded into a single cabin - demands an extraordinarily capable aircraft. Farris credits the reliability and raw power of their Airbus helicopters for turning near-tragedies into routine miracles.

"The performance is amazing with the Bambi Bucket and the hoist," Farris notes. "We're able to do those types of missions with a reasonable power margin available for safety. We have plenty of power, a big open cabin where we're able to all interact and communicate."

That water bucket performance allowed the crew to instantly pivot to emergency environmental operations, executing 148 water drops during the year to help snuff out dangerous brush fires before they could encroach on suburban property lines.

Airbus H125 deployed with water bucket for firefighting operation

Approaching 33 years in law enforcement, Farris now focuses his energy on supporting his eight full-time shift crew members, who work 12-hour shifts, ensuring the community knows the aviation unit always has their back. "It's about coming in and solving problems, helping others," Farris says. "I really enjoy being able to help and pass along everything I've learned over the years." Whether they are extinguishing a wildfire, tracking down a suspect, or pulling a lost hiker from the tree line, the aviation unit remains a consistent lifeline for Farris’ hometown county.

Farris’ sentiment toward the missions and protecting others hasn't shifted an inch since his nights as a teenage volunteer in 1989. "People call us to come help them on their worst day," he says. “They can count on us to be there.”

An Airbus H125 patrolling Seminole County