As above in many posts. I’ll add that in my area of the Pacific Northwest there are volunteer SAR teams - their doors are open!
- Reach out to any teams that have a drone group in your area. It’s been emphasized to me by coordinators that pilots are fully trained SAR first, and drone pilots second. These teams offer SAR training - it’s a time committment!
- Study for and pass a Pt. 107 pilot exam, if you’ve not done so already.
- Wait for the call for your team to join SAR, which would typically come from a County Sheriff’s office.
- Wait for the call from your team to deploy drones as specified in a search area and pattern. Typically, drones are used to “clear” an area that is open (not under tree cover) but is unsafe, difficult, or time-consuming for ground teams to clear.
As mentioned above, Search and Rescue is a team sport, and follows a strict incident command structure. Chaotic individual efforts by the untrained and unintegrated have proven to sometimes magnify the number of individuals needing SAR.
My comments about the command structure of volunteer teams supporting Sheriffs are based on my local/regional conditions; it may be different in Colorado or other locations. I defer to BigAl07 and others’ comments above for conditions in other areas. In ALL cases in the U.S. SAR is under the jurisdiction of local government agencies like Sheriffs, Fire, Forest Rangers, National Park Rangers, etc., and
airspace is controlled and actively managed within the incident command structure.