In_the_Line_of_Fire_with_US_Army_Medevac

Wildfire riderscoping with Dante’s other inferno
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£6 | € | US$15 SPRING 200
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ISSUE ONE
In the line of fire
WITH US ARMY MEDEVAC PILOT
17 WINGJumping to the rescue with
the Canadian Air Force
Hot GuamCareJet on life in the tropics
Emotional blackmail:
safety and the decision to fly
Under
pressure
Dr Terry Martin on
cabin pressurisation
Solo responders
A potential threat to
UK air ambulances

Editor-in-chief: Ian Cameron
Editor: Sarah Lee
Title editor: James Paul Wallis
Assistant editor: Mandy Aitchison
Designers: Eli Butler
Steve Annette
Production manager: Helen Watts
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James Miller
Finance: Cathy Knott
editorial: +44 (0)117 929 4636
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email: info@waypointmagazine.com
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design: V Creative Design
Front page image courtesy of PA Photos
Published on behalf of Voyageur Publishing Events Ltd
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Copyright Voyageur Publishing 2008
Materials in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
WAYPOINT AIRMED RESCUE MAGAZINE ISSN 1756-5170
Would you like to make a comment?
Are you interested or involved in any aspect of the
air medical or air rescue industry?
Whether you are a journalist or an industry professional
with something to say, we would love to hear from you.
Call Ian Cameron at the Waypoint ofﬁces on
+44 (0)117 922 6600 or: ian@waypointmagazine.co.uk
In this issue, we hear from
two fixed-wing air ambulance
providers who have recently
expanded their global reach,
with AirMed setting up a new
overseas base in Hong Kong
(page 22) and CareJet moving
into Guam (page 20). On the
rotary side, we look at HEMS
developments around the
world, including a new ground
ambulance policy in the UK
which threatens to impact on air
ambulance charities. For both
sectors, safety is a key concern,
as highlighted by the loss of a
LifeGuard Alaska helicopter
and crew in December (page
2). The question is, what’s to
blame, and what’s the solution?
Amy G McGuire levels
the same question at aerial
firefighting (page 10), looking
back at last year’s wildfire
season, and asking whether
there are the aircraft and
organisational backup needed to
douse the flames.
Speaking of fire, Major Jeffrey
Long tells of his experiences
as a medevac pilot in the US
Army in Iraq, Somalia and
Germany (page 5), ranging
from medevac under enemy fire
to using his Black Hawk as an
air crane.
If you have news or comments
on any aspect of air medical or
rescue services, we’d like to
hear from you. I hope you enjoy
reading issue one of Waypoint.
Happy flying!
James Paul Wallis
title editor
Welcome to the launch issue of Waypoint – Air Med Rescue,
the magazine for aeromedical and search and rescue
professionals worldwide.
editorial comment
WAYPOINT AIRMED RESCUE MAGAZINE

News 6
Technology 14
Fixed wing 18
Rotary 26
Commercial carriers 38
Medical crew 39
Pilots 44
Air rescue 48
Maintenance 60
Biggles giggles 62
New Analysis
Wildfi re riders 10
Have lessons been learned from this season’s fires in California,
Greece and Australia?
Features
To fl y or not to fl y 34
Karen Chamberlain looks at how to remove emotional blackmail
from the decision to fly
In the line of fi re 56
Major Jeffrey Long gives an insight into life as a US Army medevac pilot
4
CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS
magazinemagazine

5
Lyssiemay Annoh has 10 years’ experience as editor of
Executive Traveller magazine, and for six years managed
flight operations for passenger charter and medical
evacuations. She is also a teacher and project manager.
Karen Chamberlain is president of the Florida Air
and Surface Transport Nurses Association, director
of clinical services for Air Ambulance Professionals,
and clinical supervisor at Baptist Air Transport Service,
dealing with helicopter, fixed-wing and ground
transports. A certified flight registered nurse, she has
extensive experience in emergency flight medicine.
Steve Goodman is an award-winning multimedia
writer with 25 years’ experience. He has written for
television programmes on topical business currents,
medical breakthroughs, lifestyle issues and cutting-
edge civilian and military technologies. He is a regular
contributor to several national publications and well-
known websites.
Ian Lewis holds a PPL/IR, and for his day job is a writer
and film-maker. He has had four books published and
regularly writes for magazines on subjects including aviation.
As a film-maker, he has written and directed over 350
productions of all kinds, including training and promotional
work for aviation, medical, and military clients.
Major Jeffrey Long is currently serving as a brigade
medical operations officer for the 36th Combat
Aviation Brigade in Austin, Texas. He also served
in Iraqi Freedom in Balad as air plans and medical
operations officer in command from August 2006 to
August 2007. Major Long has earned numerous US
decorations and badges, including the Bronze Star
Medal and Combat Action Badge.
Neil Jones is an award-winning former Trinity Mirror
plc business editor, having been a staff journalist with
Wales’s national morning newspaper, The Western Mail,
for almost 20 years. For the last seven years he has
been a regular freelance contributor to major national,
regional and specialist business publications.
Amy McGuire has extensive aviation writing
experience. She began her aviation career as the
marketing communications co-ordinator for SimuFlite
Training International. Amy is a member of Women in
Aviation International and former public relations chair
for the American Medical Writer’s Association.
Terry Martin is a former air force doctor and helicopter
pilot. He has worked in every aspect of civilian and
military fixed-wing and helicopter aeromedical transport.
He directs and teaches the University of Otago
aeromedical retrieval and transport courses, as well as
the Clinical Considerations in Aeromedical Transport,
Medical Emergencies in Flight and the Helicopter
Medical Flight Crew courses in the UK.
Bill Rose is a former Fleet Street photojournalist. He
has written for science journals, technical publications
and newspapers, and worked for several TV production
companies as a background researcher. His book, Military
Space Technology, is scheduled for release in mid-2008.
Sara Waddington is a freelance aviation and defence
journalist. She was previously a managing editor for Janes
Information Group for naval and maritime and edited
aviation magazines such as Unmanned Vehicles and Air
Ambulance at the Shephard Group for many years.
Wildﬁre riders
Greece and Australia?
CONTRIBUTORSCONTRIBUTORSCONTRIBUTORS
COVER STORIESCOVER STORIES
10
20
29
34
42
53
56
Hot Guam
CareJet feel the heat in their new base in Micronesia
Solo responders
With UK ground ambulance services reacting to Government policy,
will air ambulances charities be overstretched?
Emotional blackmail
Karen Chamberlain looks at how to remove emotional blackmail
from the decision to fly
Under pressure
Dr Terry Martin on the whys and wherefores of cabin pressurisation
Parachute rescue
Wing 17, Canadian Air Force, jump to the rescue in frozen Ontario
In the line of ﬁre
Major Jeffrey Long on life as a US Army medevac pilot
53
10
56
20

NEWS NEWS NEWS
Cessna to develop intercontinental jets
Cessna Aircraft, a subsidiary
of Textron, is to develop
its first intercontinental
executive jet. The move by
Cessna will pit it directly against
France’s Dassault, Canada’s
Bombardier and Gulfstream of
the US. According to Cessna,
development costs for the range,
to be called Citation Columbus,
are expected to total around
$750 million. The company
said it is aiming for certification
of the eight-seater jet by 2013,
with the first delivery arriving a
year later.
Cessna is currently the biggest
manufacturer of business jets
by volume, but has for the past
several years concentrated its
efforts in the light and mid-size jet
sector, where it is the dominant
player. It is also one of the emerging
leaders in the new segment of very
light jets, where its Citation Mustang
already has a loyal following.
The Citation Columbus has
been designed to overcome the
group’s absence from the most
lucrative section of the business
jet market, where demand is
stronger than ever in markets
outside the US. Cessna say that
order numbers from outside US
territory accounted for 53 per
cent of its total jet orders last
year, which rose by 48 per cent
to 773 jets. Lewis Campbell,
Textron chief executive, said the
planned range of larger cabin
jets was ‘an important strategic
step’ in the long-term goals
of Cessna. Pratt Whitney
Canada has been selected to
supply its PW810 range of
engines for the Columbus
range, after tough competition from
Rolls-Royce and Snecma.
Star Flight adds video laryngoscope
Star Flight, which operates
in Travis County, US, has
recently added to its emergency
medical service repertoire through
the purchase of the GlideScope
Ranger video laryngoscope. The
Ranger can enhance the advanced
airway capabilities of even the most
seasoned flight medic or flight nurse,
according to the manufacture. The
portable and compact video device
provides the user with a clear view
of a patients’ airway even under the
direst of circumstances, including
blood and oral secretions and
awkward patient positioning. The
integrated high-resolution camera
and a 3.5-inch LCD monitor
provide real-time visual access to the
traumatic airway.
Star Flight is the first aeromedical
service inTexas, and the fourth in the
US to use the technology. Using the
GlideScope, Star Flight says employees
are able to quickly and safely place
an endotracheal tube in the patient’s
airway on the first attempt.
Tourists rescued from Great Barrier Reef
Thirty-seven tourists have been
rescued by helicopter after
their yacht ran aground in wild
seas around the Great Barrier
Reef, Australia. The group of
young tourists were terrified after
their boat struck rocks off the
Whitsunday Islands in the middle
of the night and began taking on
water. 30-knot winds produced
huge waves, which broke the boat’s
anchor and forced it onto rocks.
Rescuers from the Queensland
Air Rescue Service responded
to a mayday call and found the
vessel listing dangerously at 45
degrees, and had to abandon
plans to use boats or string a line
to shore because of the nature of
the conditions. Three Sea King
helicopters were then called and
used to winch the tourists off two
at a time in an operation that took
more than an hour. Tim Jones,
one of those rescued, said: “It was
a really dangerous manoeuvre
because they had to cut away all
the rigging and sails to get the
winch lines down. Some of the
people airlifted off did actually hit
the mast as they were going up but
there were no serious injuries.”
More than 1,200 stranded
passengers were airlifted by
the Indian Air Force (IAF) between
Jammu and Srinagar on 11 February,
after the closure of one of the main
roads that links the two cities. The
IAF used two aircraft, an IL-76 and an
AN-32 to help the civil administration
as heavy snowfall forced the closure of
the Srinagar-Jammu highway.
The state government took the
decision to involve the Air Force
to airlift those passengers that were
stranded on or around the road. A
huge number of passengers then
queued for the service. According to
Lt Col SD Goswami, 505 civilian
passengers were airlifted from
Jammu to Srinagar, and 763 from
Srinagar to Jammu; together with
around 450 military personnel,
who were moved from Srinagar to
Jammu. Goswami also said that Air
Force aircraft were also operating
from Udampur to airlift the stranded
passengers from there – 245 civilians
and 100 defence personnel were
moved to Srinagar from the region.
Stranded passengers airlifted
TheCessnaColumbuswillhaveintercontinentalcapability Cessna
Verathon

NEWS
NEWSNEWS
Heli-TAWS standard on the horizon
The RTCA (Radio Technical
Commission for Aeronautics)
is working towards a standard
for helicopter terrain avoidance
warning systems (TAWS),
according to a Thales spokesperson.
An RTCA standard would make
development of helicopter-specific
TAWS commercially viable, says
Thales vice-president Phil Naybour.
The standard would give the
avionics industry the assurance
that systems they develop have
the potential to be acceptable to
regulators.
Thales already produces integrated
TAWS systems for fixed-wing
aircraft. A helicopter system would
need to be compact, light and lower
in cost than a fixed-wing system,
and would also need to reflect
the different roles and operating
environments of helicopters.
Thales is currently developing the
avionics system for the Sikorsky S
76D and TAWS may be integrated
into this package at a later date.
The International Helicopter
Safety Team (IHST) says a cheap
and effective helicopter TAWS
could play an important part in
reducing helicopter accidents. In
2005, the IHST announced an
objective of reducing accidents
worldwide by 80 per cent by 2015.
Nightmare sparks oil rig evacuation
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF)
and Coast Guard assisted in
the evacuation of 161 people from
a North Sea oil rig on 10 February,
following a bomb scare sparked
by an oil worker’s bad dream. Two
RAF Sea Kings, Rescue 137 and
Rescue 138 from RAF Lossiemouth,
and a Coast Guard helicopter from
Shetland airlifted workers to nearby
platforms, along with five civilian
Super Pumas and rescue boats.
A total of 539 staff evacuated the
floating accommodation block of
the Safe Scandinavia oil platform,
115 miles off the Scottish coast.
Transfers off the rig were halted
when it emerged the alert was
triggered by nothing more than
rumours following one worker’s
nightmare, which had spread
around the ‘flotel’ and reached
senior managers within an hour.
Inevitably, the UK media
featured sensational reports of the
incident, with the Metro saying
the mass evacuation had wasted in
excess £500,000 of public money.
However, as RAF spokesman
Michael Molford told Waypoint, the
RAF search and rescue helicopters
are scheduled for 120 hours flying
time per month in any case, which
can be made up of operations or
training. And what better training
exercise than testing procedures in a
live incident?
Dana Rosu, 23, appeared in
Aberdeen Sheriff Court on a charge
of breaching the peace on the flotel,
and was remanded in a psychiatric
hospital for evaluation.
Helicopter pioneer Frank Piasecki
died on 11 February after falling
ill at his home. Mr Piasecki built his first
helicopter in 1943, only the second
American to do so, and went on to
develop the Chinook and Sea King. His
design for the Speed King, currently
undergoing trials, replaces the tail rotor
with a ducted fan to improve speed
and manoeuvrability.
Yuma, US-based Silver State Air
Rescue, formerly known as Sun
Care Air Ambulance, has ceased
service, following parent company
Silver State Helicopter’s declaration
of bankruptcy at the beginning of
February. Yuma will be served by Tri
State Care Flight.
Figures obtained from the UK
Ministry of Defence by the
Conservative Party show that only a
third of military helicopters are fit for
front-line duty; out of 40 Chinooks, 17
were said to be ‘fit for purpose’. The
Conservatives blamed a £1.4 billion-
cut in spending on helicopters, and said
the shortage was sure to impact on
capabilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Swiss firm Aerolite has announced
it has received orders from
Norway’s Lufttransport for medical
interiors for three Agusta Westland
AW139s and eleven Beechcraft King
Air B200s. The interiors will feature
single and dual patient capabilities,
integrated patient loading systems,
and medical system and equipment
integrations.
Rotorcraft Support Inc, of California,
US, has announced it has
completed supplementary type certificate
(STC) qualification to allow operators
to replace OEM-supplied Bell 430 and
Eurocopter EC130 NiCad batteries with
the company’s no-maintenance sealed-
cell lead acid battery.
The US Coast Guard Helicopter
Rescue Swimmer Program has
celebrated its silver anniversary. The
programme was set up on 12 February
1983, after the sinking of the SS Marine
Electric, in which only three of thirty-
four merchant mariners survived.
Following a recommendation by the
UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch
in a report on the failure of the horizontal
stabiliser pitch trim system of a Challenger
604 in 2005, Bombardier has completed
modifications to the horizontal stabiliser
trim control units of all Challenger 604
jets. The failure was due to moisture
ingress, according to the report.
Rotor monitoring system trialled
Staffordshire, UK-based Ultra
Electronics PMES is developing
a system to monitor rotor blades
and give early warning of
potential problems. The
rotor track an balance
system, named Helitrack,
will begin flight trials in
March, and the company
is working towards Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA)
accreditation.
The system monitors rotor
activity through a passive
optical sensor fitted to the
inside of the windscreen,
which will operate in a
wide range of weather
conditions, including bright
sunlight, says the company.
Information passes from the sensor
to a data recorder along a fibre
optic cable. PMES cites the fibre
optic cable as a design advantage,
saying the cable is electronically
and magnetically inert and will
not interfere with existing
cockpit safety equipment.
Helitrak also collects
data from a One-per-
Rev sensor on the main
rotor, and combined with
data from the passive
optical sensor this gives
blade tip track, blade
lead and lag, blade pitch
and rotor RPM statistics.
A further feature is a
three-axis vibration centre
mounted on the gearbox
housing, to allow rotor
balance monitoring and
correction.
TheHelitrackrotorblademonitoringsystemfeaturesanopticalsensorfittedtothe
windscreen PMES
WAYPOINTS

NEWS NEWS NEWS
Out of this world
The dawn of affordable (well,
only $200,000 per ticket) space
flight is drawing near, with Virgin
Galactic recently unveiling designs
for its space craft, SpaceShipTwo
(SS2), and carrier aircraft, White
Knight II (WK2), which could begin
scheduled services as soon as 2010.
The twin-fuselage turbofan powered
WK2 will take SS2 to an altitude of
15,200 metres (50,000 feet); SS2
will then use rocket power to reach
a height of 130 kilometres (400,000
feet), according to Virgin Galactic
president Will Whitehorn.
Waypoint asked Virgin Galactic
what preparations have been
made regarding in-flight medical
emergencies. Spokesperson Julia
Tizard explained that to begin with
at least, all passengers will have
thorough medical evaluatations,
including tests in a centrifuge, to
establish their fitness to fly. There
will be medical restrictions in place
to minimise the risk of an emergency
occurring in-flight, but, says Julia, the
company will aim to be as inclusive
as possible. Although minimal
emergency medical equipment will be
carried onboard SS2, passengers will
be able to return to Earth in just 20
minutes if an abort is required.
Artist’simpressionofSpaceShipTwoanditstwin-fuselagecarriercraft,WhiteKnightII Virgin Galactic
Pilot Shop Co. Inc., located in
the republic of South Korea, has
awarded REB Technologies Inc. of
Bedford, Texas, the contract for the
night vision lighting modification
of an AS350-B3. The modified
helicopter will be used by a branch
of the South Korean government,
the Fire Aviation Corps.
REBTECH president Richard
Borkowski stated that the contract
calls for an in-country modification
in March 2008, with several
additional aircraft modifications
anticipated throughout this year and
into next, which will include use of
REBTECH’s Shadows STC lighting
kits. The night vision lighting kits
have been praised in the past for
their superior illumination and
sunlight readability and have also
proven to be extremely reliable.
In addition to the lighting, the
contract includes goggle training
for flight
crews and
observers,
which will be
conducted
by Night
Flight
Concepts
of Florida,
an associate
company of
REBTECH.
REBTECH wins South Korea contract
Radio system will improve care
National Interop, Inc., a
provider of tactical and
permanent communication systems,
has announced that it has won the
contract to significantly upgrade the
radio system serving air ambulances
across a 12-state region of the
US. The new system is expected
to be more reliable than previous
systems, and it is hoped it will
increase the quality of patient care
by enabling better communications
among medical flight crews, first
responders and hospitals.
National Interop was awarded the
contract by Air Evac Lifeteam, which
is one of the largest independently
owned air medical services in the
US. The project will upgrade Air
Evac’s current radio system to use
open, standards-based Radio Over
Internet Protocol (ROIP).
The system was designed after
a thorough assessment of the
air ambulance service’s current
operations and needs, and a survey
was conducted of the available
technologies that could be used
for a radio system that must
encompass a large geographic area
at a reasonable cost. Following these
investigations, National Interop
recommended an underlying
network implemented with Cisco
routers as radio interfaces, and
Twisted Pair Solution’s WAVE for
standards-based ROIP software.
David Billstrom, CEO of the
communications company, said of
the deal: “One of our objectives
in the design was to find a way to
provide a completely redundant,
always-live second dispatch centre
for Air Evac, should their primary
dispatch facility in Missouri be
disabled or destroyed in a disaster.
Configuring additional users in a
standards-based ROIP environment
is so affordable, we will be
transforming the existing dispatch
equipment in their training academy
from a mock-up of a typical dispatch
environment to a fully equipped
dispatch environment, ready to use
as a backup dispatch centre at any
moment.”
Rebtech

NEWS
NEWSNEWS
Mice airlifted to ‘safety’
In possibly the largest ever
emergency airlift of its kind, some
7,000 stranded mice were flown to
their intended destination recently
when the climate-controlled truck
carrying them was halted by bad
weather. The mice, en route from
the Jackson Laboratory, Maine, US,
were subsequently packed 20 to a
box and loaded onto three jets at
Rock Springs-Sweetwater County
Airport, Wyoming, according to
airport manager Gary Valentine.
They were then flown to research
labs in California, Washington and
Canada – at an estimated cost of
$100,000 to $250,000, said Kathy
Vandegrift of Jackson Lab.
Think
that’s
odd? Turn
to page 63
Gale force winds and stormy
seas prompted British
emergency services into several
dramatic rescues recently, which
required the co-ordination of
services between the RAF, Navy
and RNLI. Mandy Aitchison gets
winched up
Rescue services all over the
British Isles were called to
action recently when bad weather
hit the west coast of the islands,
affecting several ships. High winds,
storms and rough
seas left three
vessels stranded
in three separate
locations, and
emergency rescue
services were
called on from
Ireland, Scotland
and Wales in a
concerted effort
to safely retrieve
all passengers and
crew from the
stricken ships.
In one of
the incidents,
fourteen people
were airlifted to safety by helicopter
from a roll-on-roll-off lorry ferry
in the Irish Sea, which ran aground
on Blackpool beach, England.
Three rescue helicopters arrived
at the scene – an Irish Coastguard
helicopter was joined by a Royal
Navy Sea King from Gannett
Flight at Prestwick, Scotland, and
a Royal Air Force (RAF) Search
and Rescue helicopter from C
Flight, 22 Squadron based at RAF
Valley, Wales. The MV Riverdance
listed 60 degrees after running into
difficulties seven miles off the coast
of Lancashire in force 10 gales,
finally coming to rest on Blackpool
beach.
The rescue operation also included
two Royal National Lifeboat
Institute (RNLI) boats, two rig
support vessels and a tanker.
The ferry, which was operated
by Seatruck, was carrying four
passengers and 19 crew between
Northern Ireland and Heysham
when it was hit by a freak wave,
causing some cargo trucks to move,
thus seriously unbalancing the ship.
Jim Paton, operations manager with
Her Majesty’s Coastguard (HMC),
said the Welsh RAF helicopter
managed to
winch four
passengers
and four crew
members from
the ship, who
were then flown
to Blackpool
Airport. A Royal
Navy helicopter
was also used
to transport six
crew members
to the airport.
RAF
winchman
Richard Taylor,
who took
eight people off the deck, said:
“I’ve seen some big seas out in the
Atlantic but never any this hairy.”
Pilot Flight Lieutenant Lee Turner
added: “Being in the dark presented
a challenge – we couldn’t see a
horizon.” Flight Lieutenant Giles
Ratcliffe described the challenge of
winching from the heavily listing
deck as ‘interesting’.
Meanwhile in the Atlantic, 200
miles west of the Isles of Scilly, an
island group 28 miles from the
Helicopter heroes
RAFValleySearchandRescuecrew:(Lefttoright)FltLtLeeTurner,FltLtGilesRatcliffe
andMasterAircrewRichardTaylor
AwinchmanloweredfromaRoyalNavySeaKing
SearchandRescuehelicopter RAF
RAF
continued on page 63 ➺
Emergency medevac for East Timor president
The president of East Timor,
Jose Ramos Horta, was shot
in the chest and stomach on 11
February by rebel soldiers at his
home in Dili, in a failed coup
attempt in the recently independent
nation. Ramos Horta was flown
to Australia for medical treatment
by CareFlight International, who
said at the time: “He is in a critical
condition on full life support, with
a ventilator for breathing and under
an induced coma.”
East Timor, a nation of just over
one million people, is a former
Portuguese colony that borders
Indonesia and is off the northern
coast of Australia. It gained
independence in 2002 after years
of Indonesian occupation. The
recent attack has plunged the tiny
country into fresh uncertainty,
following the firing of 600
mutinous soldiers in 2006, which
triggered unrest that killed 37
people and displaced more than
150,000 others.
Ramod Horta had to undergo
emergency surgery at an Australian
army base in East Timor before
being flown to the northern
Australian city of Darwin for
further treatment, according to
Ian Badham, a spokesman
for CareFlight International.
The manager of the Royal
Darwin Hospital said Ramos
Horta had been infused with 16
units of fresh blood, but doctors
were hopeful of a ‘very good
recovery’. “The abdominal injury is
very straightforward, I understand,
but there is some concern about
his chest injuries,” said Dr Len
Notoras. “His vital signs are all
very stable and I understand before
he was sedated, he was speaking in
a very clear frame of mind.”

news analysis10
Wildfireriders– coping with Dante’s other inferno
The 2007 fire season was an exercise
in destruction, with hundreds of
thousands of acres of land torched in
California, Greece, and Australia, where
the bushfires still rage. Amy G McGuire
looks into the equipment, costs and
lessons learned in aerial firefighting
Last year’s wildfires were the most expensive
in California’s history, burning more than 500,000
acres, destroying about 2,000 homes and causing
the evacuation of nearly one million people.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared
a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange,
Poway, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego,
Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Californians
must ask themselves: what are the causes,
costs, and future considerations? Or do they
simply surrender and accept their compromised
position?
As the leading lady, Mother Nature features
some powerful action scenes in the form of
lightning strikes, fierce and unforgiving winds,
winters without precipitation, and extremely dry
summers, even in beautiful Southern California.
And putting out the fire with the Santa Ana
winds gusting up to 110 kilometres per hour is
no easy feat. These dry, warm Santa Ana winds
in Southern California and Northern Baja often
make the coastal areas warmer than the deserts,
driving humidity to less than 15 per cent, and
when the Santa Ana winds channel through
mountain passes, they approach hurricane force.
This combination of wind, heat and dryness turns
the chaparral into explosive fuel. The usual tactic
of surrounding the fire on two sides and choking it
off is ineffective; the gusting wind carries embers
miles ahead of the fire’s front line, which prevents
crews from reaching the flames, who know the
Santa Anas could shift at any second, engulfing
them in the unforgiving furnace of fire.
Southern California has little rain in the hot
summer and autumn months, leading to a build-
up of dead trees and bushes. Fires are a normal
part of the natural cycle, clearing out the dead
plants and creating ash that fertilises the soil,
contributing to the flourishing of new plants

news analysis 11
and trees. But with the building of
million-dollar luxury homes on the
hills just outside major metropolitan
areas, these smaller fires are normally
extinguished immediately. As a result,
dead trees and brush build up, which
has to be physically removed to
prevent fires. Despite the warnings
of experts, none of the layers of
government – federal, state or local
– budgeted the money necessary
for fire prevention, which starts with
clearing away all the dead trees and
chaparral that constitutes the fires’
prime fuel.
Firefighting
WhetheryoublameMotherNature
or the human factor for the fires,
help to fight them is greatly needed.
Regardless of the causes, people care
– even the California Rehabilitation
Center in Norco allowed about
4,000 state prison inmates to help
tackle the fires from the ground. In
addition, on 22 October, Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger directed
1,500 National Guard troops for
firefighting missions.
Surelythebestwaytocombatthese
wildfires, however, is from the air.
The aircraft used to fight the California
fires make a diverse list. During the
fire season, the military dispatched six
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from
border duty, along with two CH-47
Chinooks. A California Guard Sikorsky
S-70 Firehawk also joined the battle.
The Air National Guard reinforced
the fight from the air with four C-
130 Hercules Military Airborne Fire
Fighting Systems from North Carolina
and Wyoming. In addition, two Navy
MH-60S ‘Seahawk’ helicopters,
equipped with 420-gallon Bambi
buckets, worked in coordination with
civilian fire fighters.
Coming to the aid of displaced
residents, Coast Guard Hercules
crews provided residents with
over 35,000 pounds of emergency
supplies, with an additional 15,000
pounds of blankets, portable beds and
other emergency supplies. In a joint
mission with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), the
Coast Guard crews committed to fly
these humanitarian missions until the
wildfire threat was resolved.
At the city level, local departments
were stretched to their limits, but
were able to fight the blazes with
the help of Los Angeles County Fire
Department Air Operations, which
flew over 160 hours and dropped
270,000 gallons of water and foam
with its fleet of Bell 412 helicopters in
one week alone.
In San Diego, Copter 1, the Fire-
Rescue Department Air Operations
Division’s Bell 212HP helicopter,
worked non-stop, dropping water,
transferring injured residents and
firefighters, and flying reconnaissance
missions. In early 2007, the Division
began staffing seven days a week and
became one of the few units in the
nation trained to conduct night-time
aerial water dropping missions. Copter
1 operated without interruption over
the 10,000-plus acres that burned
within the City of San Diego from the
moment the fires started.
In Ventura County, the Sheriff’s
Department dispatched its Super
Hueys, dropping 75,000 gallons of
water in 200 sorties within 30 flight
hours.
Help came from long distances as
well. Leased from Quebec, two CL-
415 Super Scooper firefighting planes
were on standby in Los Angeles
County. The largest firefighting
bomber plane in the world, a Martin
Mars waterbomber, flew in from
Vancouver Island, with a payload
nearly five times greater than the
Super Scoopers – 7,200 gallons.
Originally built for the US Navy in
1945, the JRM Martin Mars can ‘wet-
blanket’ four acres per drop, covering
it with 30 tons of water, foam or gel.
And Last October, Kaman Aerospace
delivered two of the company’s K-
MAX firefighting helicopters, which
saved a large youth camp/school in
the Lake Arrowhead area by dipping
water from their pool. The flames
came within 100 feet of the buildings,
but 100 drops in under two hours
saved several buildings.
UAV support
Fire crews battling the wildfires
sweeping across Southern California
were joined by a new colleague:
a pilotless plane based on military
technology. Onboard infrared sensors
relay data about the fires, via satellite,
to firefighters on the ground. The
drone is called the Ikhana, which
means ‘intelligent’ in the Native-
American Choctaw language. The
36-foot long drone is controlled by
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger described weather conditions as ‘the perfect storm for a fire’ USArmy
A National Guard Black Hawk, Montgomery Airfield in San Diego, California, October 2007 USNationalGuard

news analysis12
technicians at Edwards Air Force Base
in the Mojave Desert.
“The infrared sensors can penetrate
smoke and relay crucial data about the
fire-size, intensity and the direction to
crews on the ground,” said Everett
Hinkley, programme leader with the
US Forest Service’s Remote Sensing
Applications Center in Salt Lake City.
“The drones can stay airborne much
longer than conventional aircraft – up
to 20 hours.”
Despite these advances, the basic
strategy of fighting a wildfire has not
changed in decades. “Fundamentally,
the way we put out fires is the same
as it was 70 years ago,” said Murry
Taylor, a former firefighter and author
of Jumping Fire. “Yes, we have better
tools, the fire engines are bigger,
the crews are better trained and the
aircraft are more modern. But we’re
dealing with Mother Nature, and she
dances a mean boogie.”
Fanning the flames
Fighting the California fires required
teams from different agencies, both
in the air and on the ground. The
media has picked up on heroic efforts
from many involved – however,
the coordination of the operations
has been criticised. According to an
Associated Press (AP) report, on 26
October 2007 in Los Angeles, nearly
twodozenwater-droppinghelicopters
and two massive cargo planes sat idle,
groundedbygovernmentbureaucracy.
Under a State of California rule, a
California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection ‘fire spotter’ must
accompany each military helicopter to
coordinate water or retardant drops.
Although 19 helicopters were ready
to fly, the crews lacked the required
fire spotter to accompany their flight.
The initial decision to abandon the
state policy requiring one spotter
per aircraft was later modified to
one spotter per squadron of three
helicopters. Unfortunately, by the
time the helicopters were airborne,
the area burned had quadrupled to
more than 390 square miles, and the
number of homes destroyed jumped
from 34 to more than 700.
The fire departments in Southern
California, as well as the federal fire
system for the national forests, is
hit by one budget cut after another.
Because of staffing and equipment
problems, they have trouble dealing
with the normal levels of fires, not to
speak of the vast emergencies in late
October.
What lessons have we learned?
According to the Southern California
Firestorm 2003 Report for the Wildland
FireLessonsLearnedCenter,prepared
by Mission-Centered Solutions in
Colorado, pre-incident planning –
which included route control planning
– was essential to effective evacuation
compared to those areas that did
not conduct extensive pre-incident
planning. Another important lesson:
personal responsibility. The report
stated that educating residents about
actions to take prior to evacuating
their home and routes to follow is
critical. Many believe that residents
who choose to live in these areas
should take responsibility for their
choices and bear the true costs.
John N. Maclean, author of The
Thirtymile Fire, has concluded the
following: “Western wildfires are
becoming bigger, more frequent, and
more damaging. Driven by drought,
global warming, a surging population,
Santa Ana winds, wild-land fuels built
up over decades and other factors,
Southern California’s fire problem
will grow larger, not smaller, in the
coming years. The conflict between
people and fire is accelerating faster
in Southern California than anywhere
else in the nation. Of the 450,000
people estimated to have moved
into previously wild areas so far this
decade, about 240,000 – more
than half – have chosen Southern
California.”
Maclean added that the Santa Ana
winds and lightning-started wildfires
have been part of this southwestern
landscape for millennia. Residents
need to accept that such wildfires are
part of life, and the government needs
to spend money on preparedness and
planning, rather than putting out fires.
Let the fires burn naturally, he says.
It seems that money could be saved
by not fighting these fires, and instead
tightening and enforcing regulations
for clearing brush in fire zones.
In a 2003 Los Angeles Times
newspaper editorial, the inconsistent
and insufficient brush clearance in
specific fire zones was noted: “In
San Bernardino County, where
homeowners are required to clear
only30feetofbrusharoundwoodland
homes each spring, flames tore across
150,000 acres and through more
than 900 dwellings. Ventura County,
which requires a 100-foot clearance,
lost just 38 homes even though more
than 172,000 acres burned. Not
one house was lost in Los Angeles
County’s Stevenson Ranch, which
requires fire-retardant roofs and 200-
foot buffers.”
Is it worth it?
The costs associated with fighting
fires are extreme. The average annual
budget for fighting wild-land fires in
California has tripled since 2000 and
federal spending is $3 billion per year.
In 2007, the US Forest Service spent
45 per cent of its budget on wild-
land fire suppression. In 2006, the
California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection spent $206.3 million
dollars fighting 4,805 fires, losing 431
structures at an estimated cost of
$60.2 million in damages. In 2006,
five firefighters were killed battling a
Southern California mountain fire.
Cancelled or delayed flights rippled
through the national air-traffic system.Taking water from the facility’s pool, a Kaman K-Max helped save a school from the flames Kaman
California wildfires, October 2007 NASA

news analysis 13
Some argue that fighting forest
fires is not the best use of resources
or funds. In 1996, a former Fire
Department vegetation management
official said: “There is, without
exception, no reason for a structure to
be consumed by wildfire. When these
fires break out, millions of dollars are
spent per 24-hour period employing
retardant-dropping fixed-wing aircraft
and helicopters, and hundreds of
fire engines and firefighters in a vain
attempt to save structures that, with
forethought, could have survived
even the highest intensity blaze.”
Europe on fire
While California extinguished
its flames, other parts of the world
were dealing with the effects of their
own fires. From Greece to Spain,
land and lives have been consumed
by flames. In fact, the Spanish
government recently bolstered their
water bomber fleet by ordering
two Bombardier 415s, which
increases its fleet of the amphibious
firefighting aircraft to 22. Since the
first Bombardier 415 amphibious
aircraft was delivered in 1994, 66
have been delivered to firefighting
agencies in Canada, Croatia, France,
Greece, Italy and Spain.
In Greece, from 28 June 2007 to
3 September 2007, 670,000 acres
were burned and 79 lives were lost,
including two pilots. Some of the
Greek firestorms are believed to have
been the result of arson, while others
were the result of mere negligence.
Hot temperatures, including three
consecutive heat waves of over 40ºC
(105ºF),andseveredroughtrendered
the 2007 summer unprecedented
in modern Greek history. From the
end of June to early September, over
3,000 forest fires were recorded
across the nation.
The EC225 and the EC725 were
used to extinguish the 2007 Greek
forest fires – the worst fire season on
record in the past 50 years – which
were a series of massive infernos that
destroyed 1,000 homes and other
buildings throughout the summer. “All
oftheequipmentontheEC725serves
a purely military purpose [weaponry,
optronic turret, countermeasures]
and was removed from the aircraft,
which then corresponded to an
EC225 configuration,” according to
the EADS subsidiary.
The aircraft, which is stationed
at Bastia-Poretta, was fitted with a
firefighting system developed by
Eurocopter, consisting of a flexible
4,000-litre (1050 US gallon) tank
attached to the floor of the cabin
and a scoop and water jettison kit.
Eurocopter plans to deliver the
first firefighting-configured EC225
helicopter some time this year.
In addition, Greece is reported to
have signed a contract for 14 Beriev
Be-200s in firefighter mode, which
can scoop up 12 tonnes of water
in just 14 seconds, marking the first
export order of the Russian twin-
turbo-fan amphibious plane.
Australia bolsters fleet
Australia has also had its share of
wildfires, with drought and high winds
stoking the flames. The emergency
services are gearing up for the fight,
though, and Western Australia’s water
bombing capacity will be significantly
bolstered with a new helicopter
landing in Perth this bushfire season.
Recently used to fight the Californian
fires, the Fire King will assist with bush
fires across the state, where its water
capacity and ability to penetrate the
tree canopy will be most effective.
Police and Emergency Services
Minister John Kobelke said the
government was committed to
ensuring the state’s firefighting
equipment was state-of-the-art. “This
helicopter can carry close to 4,000
litres of water, which is four times the
amount the helitacs can carry,” Mr
Kobelke said. “In addition, the new
helicopter will allow a greater ability to
attack fires in a sustained fire bombing
operation with the ability to refill in 30
seconds. The Fire King will support
the current firefighting fleet of four
helitacs, an air intelligence helicopter
and the Department of Environment
and Conservation’s (DEC) eight
fixed-wing water bombers, which
are based throughout the Southwest.
It is estimated that $9 million worth
of structural assets were saved and a
further $41 million protected by the
helitacs when they were utilised to
assist ground crews at close to 150
bush fires in 2006.”
The state government has provided
$1.3 million for the Fire King trial, with
$900,000 coming from Australia’s
National Aerial Firefighting Centre.
While the air fleet will greatly enhance
the emergency services’ ability to
tackle fires, there is only so much that
can be done to fight a bushfire, and
it is up to residents to ensure their
properties are prepared.
“We can’t have a firefighter at every
door or helitacs protecting every
house during a fire,” Mr Kobelke said.
“Residents need to support their local
firefighters by taking time to clear their
property of potential fuel, creating at
least a 20-metre circle of safety and
sitting down with their families to
decide what action they will take if a
bush fire threatens.”
Personal responsibility: perhaps
the rest of the world could heed that
lesson.
Harris Fire burning down Mount Miguel in San Diego County, US - October 2007 David S Roberts
A modular fire fighting system being loaded onto a 145th Airlift Wing C-130 Hercules US National Guard

14
TECHNOLOGY
Air Cruisers adds to liferaft inventory
US-based Air Cruisers Company
has been awarded another
Supplementary Type Certificate for
its growing pneumatically activated
product line. In response to market
demand, it has partnered with Era
Helicopters in Louisiana to develop
a six-person, TSO-approved liferaft
system that mounts in the helicopter’s
right-hand cargo extender. The
raft uses state-of-the-art pneumatic
activation to allow anyone inside the
aircraft to remotely deploy the raft
through a modification in the cargo
extender door.
Patrick Nasdeo, sales manager for
Air Cruiser’s helicopter product line,
noted: “This liferaft is TSO-C70a-
approved, totally modular for use
with any float system on the market
regardless of manufacturer and has
triple redundancy in activation with
two pneumatic activators mounted
inside the cockpit and one externally
to the cargo extender.” He
continued by stating that the liferaft
system mounts internally, so there
is no loss of speed or performance
due to an adverse impact on
aerodynamics. Once deployed,
it inflates to full round out and is
boardable in less than 10 seconds.
More importantly, it provides a
solution to the problem of getting
the liferaft out of cabin safely,
without impacting on performance.
Collision warning system launched
Despite the Visual Flight Rules
of ‘see and avoid’, around
20 collisions are reported every
year in general aviation worldwide.
And most of these collisions
occur during the day, when light
and visibility is usually at its best,
according to Flarm, a manufacturer
of flight technology. Thus, Flarm
has created an affordable collision
warning system for general
aviation and for recreational
flying. The company says it is the
only alternative to the traffic alert
and collision avoidance system
(TCAS), which is used mostly by
commercial, turbine-powered craft.
The device has been designed
specifically to minimise nuisance
alarms, even in high traffic
density. Since its inception in
2004, Flarm-compatible devices
have been installed in aircraft all
over the world, and have been
credited with increasing situational
awareness and avoiding dangerous
situations. In 2007, the World
Air Sports Federation awarded
the company the Prince Alvaro
de Orleans-Borbon prize for
‘technical advances in the field of
sporting aviation’.
The new Flarm device
receives position and movement
information from an internal GPS
receiver in the aircraft. The future
flight path of the host aircraft is then
predicted. This data is subsequently
broadcast by radio on licence-
free SRD band, from where it
is received and processed by all
other Flarm units within range.
Incoming aircraft trajectories are
then compared to the unit’s own
prediction, and the threat level
determined based on the estimated
time to convergence. In addition,
the device contains a database of
known static obstacles, such as
electric power cables, and during
the flight constantly scans the flight
path for potential hazards.

15
TECHNOLOGY
Swivel adapters launched for abseil device
Some years ago, the Hessen
police in Germany were the
first to use the fixed External Abseil
Device (EAD01) on its EC145s, and
since then many other organisations
have followed in its footsteps. Now,
the team behind the EAD01, ecms
Aviation Systems, has designed
retractable interface adapters
(RIAs) that turn the fixed arm of
the EAD01 into a swivelling device,
simply by clicking them between
the helicopter and the EAD01. The
addition is simple to fit and does not
require the use of any tools.
The RIAs are said to greatly
improve the operation value of
the already versatile helicopter,
especially when it is being used for
fast roping operations, thanks to the
creation of an approximate one-foot
distance between the rope and
helicopter skid. This enables crews
to perform rappelling missions
for SWAT and rescue teams, with
up to four ropes per helicopter
simultaneously or fast roping with
skid clearance using two ropes
per helicopter, as well as human
external cargo operations with the
new LifeLine device. Extension of
the ropes can be made while in
flight and is a one-handed operation.
Once again, it is the Hessen police
that is the first organisation to
receive the new interface adapters
for its EC145s, although the
device can also be fitted to
EC135s. Several police special
forces teams (SEKs) from
Frankfurt and Kassel recently
attended an exercise with the
Police Helicopter Squadron
Hessen, practising fast
roping with the new device.
ecms Aviation Systems is an
EASA certified design and
production organisation
specialising in load attachment
devices and human external
cargo devices, holding several
patents for twin rope systems
used on a daily basis in
mountain rescue operations.
Basket to speed mass rescue
Third ZR Lite installed
If you were to list the limitations
of the rescue helicopter, lack
of space and the slow business of
winching – almost always limited
to one survivor at a time – would
surely come near the top. Tom
Clode of Helicopter Logistics
Support (HLS) is convinced that
the answer to this lies not in bigger
helicopters and a forest of winch
wires, but a distinctly low-tech
metal cage – HLS prefers the word
‘basket’ – that can carry up to 16
people at a time. Given the right
conditions, the Heli-Basket can take
such a group aboard in a minute
or less, while winching them up
individually might have taken more
than half an hour.
Currently the smallest in the
Heli-Basket range weighs just over
300 kilogrammes (660 pounds)
yet has a payload of nearly 2,050
kilogrammes (4,500 pounds). A
smaller four to six person basket
is in development. Medium-twin
helicopters such as the Bell 412 are
the most likely carriers. The basket
allows access through full-width end
gates, and can accommodate able-
bodied, walking wounded or the
more seriously injured, says HLS.
On its way to the incident scene, it
can also carry specialist equipment
such as fire-fighting kit.
While it has a role in large-scale
maritime rescues, the basket is
also aimed at the urban ‘Towering
Inferno’ scenario – one for which
most emergency services remain
woefully ill-equipped, according to
Clode: “The helicopter remains
the only way of getting people off
a building above a fire site or rising
flood. A standard fireman’s escape
ladder will reach no higher than the
seventh floor – and that’s if it can get
close enough to the wall.”
According to Clode, there’s
a case for siting a basket on the
roof of every tower block, and
at military or Civil Defence bases
near areas vulnerable to flooding.
The US Army National Guard is
now acquiring baskets in substantial
numbers, says Clode, and HLS is
hoping to receive EASA certification
this summer, which the company
says will aid marketing in Europe.
Raisbeck Engineering has
announced completion of
the third installation of its ZR
Lite Performance System and Aft
Fuselage Locker on Skyservice’s fleet
of Learjet 35/36. Skyservice Inc. is a
business aviation, air ambulance and
charter airline, operating more than
50 business and airline aircraft.
Pat Renaud, Skyservice’s
chief pilot, commented:
“With ZR Lite we
experience a better
climb during hot or icy
temperatures and we have
noticed significant fuel
savings. We are also able
to utilise one crew since it
allows us to turn one-stop
trips into non-stop trips.”
The performance
system increases allowable
take-off weight under
such limiting conditions
as higher altitude airports
and shorter sea-level runways
and includes recontoured trailing
edge flaps, outboard trailing edge
horizontal winglets and wing leading
edge vortilons, giving ‘a totally new
take-off speed schedule and a new
14-degree flap setting for improved
take-off performance’.
Rasibeck says the Aft Fuselage
Locker improves aerodynamics by
reducing drag-generating vortices
and presenting greater tail area,
giving the aircraft increased ventral
fin effect. And, of course, it can be
used for stowing equipment – it has
a maximum capacity of 300 pounds,
which is, says Raisbeck, ‘enough for
396 cans of Campbell soup with
room left for crackers’.PatRenaud,chiefpilotatSkyservice,with ZRLiteenhancedLearjet
FrankfurtSEKteamassessthenewRIA02interfaceadapters
Raisbeck Engineering
ecms

16
TECHNOLOGY
Help at hand for intermittent wiring faults
In November, Astronics launched
its new ARCSAFE wiring fault
detection system, which
the company says
is designed to
‘quickly and
preemptively
locate hard-to-
find intermittent
shorts and opens
in complex aircraft
wiring’.
Leann Hurst, manager of
marketing and communications for
Astronics AES, explained: “New
technology incorporated
in Astronics’ ARCSAFE
system product line not
only detects typical
open and shorted
wiring, it also locates
intermittent faults
associated with wiring
insulation defects or failures”.
A patented non-destructive
inspection (NDI) technique
– pulse arrested spark
discharge (PASD) – allows
the ARCSAFE system to
accurately locate breached
insulation, chaffing and
insulation cracks within inches
of the damage. Location
is depicted on a three-
dimensional display of the
aircraft for pinpoint accuracy.
Aircraft innovation is never
ending. Back in the Korean War,
a ride on an air ambulance could
mean being strapped into an open
litter on the outside of a Bell 47.
Technology has moved on – these
days patients generally have the
luxury of travelling inside the cabin,
being loaded aboard either while
you’re landed or picked up by winch.
So, what’s next? Olive Engineering
says it has the answer – a cross
between a helicopter and a lift,
where the whole passenger cabin
can be winched to the ground.
CEO Nehemia Cohen told
Waypoint he believes the Elcopter
‘represents one of the most
significant milestones in the history
of helicopters since Leonardo da
Vinci unveiled his saucer-shaped
gondola in the 15th century’.
Cohen, an aeronautical engineer
with decades of RD experience in
aviation, said the idea for Elcopter
grew out of his engineering studies
at the Technion-Israel Institute of
Technology. It was just two years
ago, however, that he formed a
company to commercialise the idea.
The patent-pending design ‘divides’
a standard helicopter in two. Using
cables and winches, a detachable,
secure autonomous ‘cabin’ descends
from the fuselage. While the
helicopter hovers, the pilot – or
someone inside the cabin – can
navigate the cabin independently.
‘Advanced electro-optical tracking’
guides the unit and allows ‘pinpoint
navigational accuracy’ by locking on
to a target location.
Olive says the Elcopter design
overcomes stability problems through
its ‘independent thruster system’
to maintain horizontal stability, and
a winch to control vertical motion.
Depending on the helicopter type
and configuration, the cabin could
hold ‘between six and 30 people’,
becoming a portable medevac, SAR,
or equipment storage unit.
According to Cohen, the Elcopter
will give ‘new opportunities for
helicopter-based rescue operations’:
“We can access everywhere, from
densely populated urban settings
to rugged mountainous terrains, to
ships, to canyons.” Now, why didn’t
Leonardo think of that?
Ever wanted a detachable cabin?
Certificate awarded to MD Explorer engine filter
The IBF system manufacturer
Aerospace Filtration Systems,
Inc. (AFS), a division of Donaldson
Company, says the approval allows
operators of MD900 Explorer
series helicopters to achieve greater
performance and maintenance
benefits as well as improved engine
protection. In particular, it means
operators of MD900 helicopters will
now be able to run them with no
engine inlet imposed flight or gross
weight restrictions, states AFS.
Inlet bypass capability is achieved
using the existing MDHI bypass
system, part of the Inlet Particle
Separator (IPS) modification. In the
case of the MD900, Donaldson/
AFS already provide both the IPS
and the IBF to MD Helicopters for
production aircraft. The new IBF
system is also available as a factory fit
option on the MD900/902 Explorer.
The manufacturer is now in the
process of seeking approval for the
IBF design from the European Aviation
Safety Agency, to allow the system to
be targeted at non-US operators.
AW139 nose gear door kit approved
DART Helicopters, the US-
based sales, marketing and
manufacturing company, has
announced that its subsidiary, Apical
Industries Inc., has received Federal
Aviation Authority approval for its
Nose Landing Gear Door Kit for
AB139/AW139 helicopters. Further
approvals from Transport Canada and
the European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) are pending.
According to DART, the Apical
Nose Landing Gear Doors Kit
provides a complete bolt-on solution
that reduces drag and cabin noise
associated with an open-front
wheelhouse. The doors are built from
a lightweight carbon-fibre material
with closed cell foam cores, which,
says the company, will improve
service life and also resist water
absorption. The doors are sold
primed and ready for paint, while
the machined linkage components
come anodized, primed and painted
in order to protect against corrosion.
The doors can be installed as a stand-
alone or replacement kit and use
factory provisions found on all aircraft,
so no permanent modifications need
to be made to the airframe.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded a Supplemental Type Certificate for a new inlet barrier filter (IBF) system for the
MD900 Explorer series manufactured by MD Helicopters. Neil Jones has the details

17
TECHNOLOGY
For some time now, Whelen
Engineering has been making
cutting-edge light emitting diodes
(LEDs) for use as an alternative light
source to halogen/xenon strobe
and high intensity discharge
(HID) technology to
aircraft manufacturers.
Though usually a
slow process,
original
equipment
manufacturers
(OEMs)
worldwide have
taken notice
of the LED’s
ability to exceed
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and
Joint Aviation Authorities
(JAA) light output requirements,
to illuminate for landing and taxi, to
decrease weight, electrical load and
to offer product life that is rare in
any industry.
EMS and rescue helicopter
operators are now being offered the
new Class I LED Beacon,
71080, which
reduces beacon
weight by half
a pound (227
grams) over
the 70905
LED beacon
that has been
offered for
nearly four
years. The
mounting base
of 71080 is one
inch (25.4 mm)
less in diameter
as well, giving it an
improved fit on Eurocopter
and Bell vertical stabilisers.
Developed for a Goodrich,
Whelen LED’s
(Model 71125) can
now be added to
this hoist system,
lighting the
cable system
and the hoist
environment.
Units are being
shipped to
OEMs now
for aircraft
being delivered
this year.
Custom lighting packages for a
variety of manufacturers are also
in progress at Whelan - these
custom packages will be landing/taxi
or recognition lights built into the
geometry of the aircraft. Traditionally
packaged, round LED Illumination
products are now available, along
with electronic pulse light flashers
for recognition. Landing and taxi
lights are not regulated
by the FAA or JAA,
so operators are
encouraged to contact
their aircraft OEM to
determine if they’re
considering LED
technology on
your model
aircraft. LED
Illumination cannot
replace PAR Lamps
without governing
approval (from the
FAA/JAA/OEM) that
were type certified
with your aircraft.
Lighting the skies
Whelen has for ten years
promoted and developed the
LED for our Automotive
warning light products and now
has more than 40 million LEDs
in its product line up.
Greg Ginnetti casts some light on the increasing use of LEDs to replace traditional
aircraft lighting, and details some of the newest units available
Med-Pac, Inc.
PO Box 5, 2093 South 2nd Street, Lake Park, MN 56554, USA
Toll free (US only): 866 875 8068 Tel: (001) 218 238 5100
Fax: (001) 218 238 5102 Email: rbraaten@med-pac.net
Lightweight, Quick-change, Medical Interior
medpac_hlf warm1.indd 1 13/2/08 09:53:59

FIXED WING18
Sean Culligan of AMREF
Flying Doctor Service, based
in Nairobi, Kenya, gives an
inside view of the impact of
the violence that erupted
in December following the
disputed general elections
The Kenya election of 2002
was hailed throughout the
world as a model of the democratic
process in action. A smooth
transition from the party that
had held total power for over 21
years passed peacefully to a loose
coalition predominantly on an
anti-corruption manifesto.
Five years later, the 2007
election has been universally
condemned, both inside and out
of the country, with the European
Union describing the election
process as badly flawed and failing
to meet international standards.
As a result of a violent reaction
against the perceived rigging of
votes, over 600 people died and
nearly 300,000 people throughout
out the country were displaced in
a little over a week of inter-tribal
fighting. Homes, shops, business
were burnt and looted.
In the midst of the chaos,
AMREF Flying Doctor Service
joined the humanitarian and
relief efforts alongside its medical
evacuation work, particularly in
Western Kenya where clashes had
been devastating for the people
who had lost their properties
and livelihoods. Requests poured
in from partners and other
organisations demanding updates
on the security situation, advice
on the possibility of non-medical
evacuation to safe areas and a host
of other queries.
Over a seven-day period at the
start of the new year, at the height
of the violence and chaos, Flying
Doctors, in collaboration with
Phoenix Aviation, was involved in
a total of 28 flights, 10 of them
medical evacuation flights directly
related to the intertribal riots, and
18 non-medical evacuation flights,
relocating local people from their
devastated home areas to hurriedly
established refugee centers or
assisting in moving expatriate staff
to safe areas. Many of these flights
were performed at no charge,
part of AMREF’s commitment to
supporting the poor and needy in
Kenya.
As the situation remains
uncertain, The United Nations
(UN) Office for the Co-ordination
of Humanitarian Affairs estimates
that nearly half a million people
will need assistance in the coming
weeks and months. The UN
World Food Programme (WFP)
has begun distributing food to
33,000 people around Nairobi.
While humanitarian aid seems to
be reaching most of the people
affected, the country’s general
situation will remain volatile
as long as the political crisis
continues.
Although industry and
infrastructure has suffered,
important services, such as
hospitals, transportation systems,
communications and the majority
of the supplies, remain unaffected.
Crisis in Kenya - an inside view
US-based Marlin Air has filed a
lawsuit against the University of
Michigan, asking for more than
$1 million in remuneration for
terminating its contract after a
plane crash in 2007 that killed six
members of an organ transplant
team. Marlin Air was under
contract with the university to
provide fixed-wing air ambulances
for its survival flight missions.
Six men, including two Marlin
pilots and four employees of the
university, were all killed when their
Cessna crashed into Lake Michigan
shortly after take-off. The university
employees had just managed to
procure organs for transplant into a
patient at the university hospital.
Scott Erskine, representing
Marlin in the legal struggle,
said the university did not
terminate the contract properly,
as investigations by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) and
the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) did not show any
wrongdoing on the part of Marlin.
At the time of the accident, the
contract still had more than two
years and $1 million left to go.
In a straightforward statement,
the University made its position
clear: “In order to maintain the
commitment to provide the best
care possible to our patients and
their families, the University of
Michigan Health System had to
obtain service from other fixed-
wing providers. Marlin Air did
not have the ability to provide the
service required by our institution.”
Erskine has argued that the
contract was terminated by the
hospital a mere day after Marlin
said it was training two new pilots
to join the transport team. “Despite
an impeccable track record,” he told
the press, “the university terminated
the contract with Marlin Air
shortly after the crash, citing only
the ‘tragic circumstances that
resulted in the crash’ as the reason
for termination.” This, he said,
had no basis in fact or law for the
termination of the contract.
Michigan University sued by Marlin

FIXED WING 19
Hawker Beechcraft
Corporation (HBC) has
recently announced the sale of
five Beechcraft King Air B350Cs
to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Already outifitted with the
Lifeport medical service, the local
airport will be used for Ministry
of Defence and Aviation medical
evacuation transport purposes
throughout the Kingdom.
Deliveries of the aircraft will begin
in June this year, and they will be
based in Riyadh.
Ted Farid, vice-president of new
business development for Hawker,
said the sales are a reflection of the
strength of the plane in the special
mission role, and added: “It has
proven its value through constant
refinement, mission effectiveness
and rock-solid reliability.”
The King Air B350C is the cargo
version of the commercial aircraft,
which includes a wide cargo door
that ensures stretcher patients can
be positioned in the aircraft in the
easiest possible way. The interiors
are fully equipped with overhead
medical service modules to secure
patient monitoring equipment.
Major General Hamad Hassoun,
director of medevac for the
Ministry of Defence and Aviation,
said: “We evaluated a number
of aircraft around the world
for this mission and no other
aircraft available could meet our
needs for operations in and out
of unimproved airports with the
loads the King Air 350 can carry.”
He went on to comment that the
combination of cabin volume,
speed and endurance offered by the
King Air is invaluable to a medevac
mission.
Saudi orders Medevac King Airs
The US Indian Health Service
(IHS) has given the go ahead
for Private Air Shuttle Network
(PASN) to compete with other
air ambulance services in South
Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska
and Iowa, according to PASN’s
CEO John Warnock. The move to
allow the company to serve more
reservations will bring emergency
health care one step closer for
isolated American Indians.
The Sioux Falls-based firm began
carrying passengers in January
2007, Missions have mainly
been to Pine Ridge, but the new
IHS deirective will see expansion
first to the Rosebud reservation,
according to Warnock.
PASN to
serve more
American
Indian
reservations

FIXED WING20
CareJet reports on life in the
Western Pacific and its newly
opened base on Guam
A badly injured Ukrainian tourist
sprawls inside a hot van parked by
the Pohnpei, Micronesia airport
after an inter-island fishing trip
hits a disastrous snag. In a van.
Not an ambulance. A van with no
ventilator. No medical supplies.
No emergency first responders to
stabilise him for a safe hand-off. Just
bleeding it out in the sun till help
arrives.
In a turn of serendipity, an off-duty
doctor happens to be in Pohnpei
en route to the Philippines and
monitors the mangled angler as best
he can while CareJet, the region’s
newly commissioned, first-and-only
air ambulance, rushes to the rescue
from its home base on the US
Territory of Guam, a four-hour flight
away. Then finally to Manila, where
the fortunate fisherman is stabilised
under world-class care at St Luke’s
Medical Center.
Welcome to remote, sub-
rural Micronesia. To the healthy
vacationer, a tropical island paradise.
To the severely sick or injured, an
Eden tempting perdition. And to the
pilots, the nurses and the medical
technicians who staff the medevacs,
an adventure worth a bundle of
regaling tales.
“In some of these islands, medical
supplies are so limited that local
hospitals actually reuse their
disposables!” says Karen Dumchus,
chief flight nurse for CareJet. “That’s
why we double up on supplies
– drugs, urinals, nasal cannulas,
portable oxygen, antiseptics, gauze,
bandages, you name it. Because we
know when we arrive to a remote
island, we’re going to have to make
up for whatever they lack on the
ground.”
Just keeping a patient cool can be a
challenge. CareJet’s inaugural voyage
was to Hawaii and included a 45-
minute refueling stop in the Marshall
Islands capital Majuro. Naturally, the
plane had to be turned off while all
medical equipment remained on
battery. The temperature shot up
from extremely cold in the air to
extremely warm and humid on the
ground.
“I never thought that our nursing
would include fanning the patient,”
says Dumchus. “During refueling
in Pohnpei, the medical team and
injured fisherman had to sit under
the plane’s wing because it was the
only shade on the tarmac!”
Until October of last year, ailing
islanders and unsuspecting visitors
in desperate need of off-island care
had no choice but to suffer ten-day
medical clearances from the region’s
only headquartered commercial
carrier. That, or somehow cough up
$70,000 to $100,000 for a charter
flight from Southeast Asia.
But in the autumn of 2007, Guam-
based Aviation Concepts, Inc. (ACI)
changed all that with
the launch of CareJet,
a Westwind II fixed-
wing jet and the
only air ambulance
responding to
emergencies across
the far corners of
Micronesia. CareJet
flies patients from the
islands to receiving
hospitals in Manila,
Honolulu, Tokyo
and even back
to Guam, where
Micronesia’s two
most advanced hospitals are based.
The air ambulance is also on call for
Northern Australia and Southeast
Asia.
Despite Team CareJet’s ability
to get there fast and help stabilise
critical conditions, emergency
evacuations from rustic archipelagos
is still no easy feat. “I realise every
US-based air ambulance service
area has its unique challenges. But
trust me when I say that Micronesia
is in a category of its own,” says
Terry Habeck, chairman and CEO
of ACI. “There’s nothing domestic
about what we do out here. Our
transfers are 3,000 and 3,800 miles,
versus the 150-mile excursions
typical in the US mainland. Plus, with
Micronesia being such an attractive
destination for scuba divers, we
have higher rates of decompression
sickness, which means that we
will often be forced to fly at lower
altitudes for longer transfers.”
Further complicating emergency
air medicine in Micronesia are
language and cultural barriers.
“Our multilingual pilots and
medical staff have learned to be
flexible, observant, inquisitive and
resourceful, because patient medical
records are often nonexistent,”
says Dumchus. “Many remote
communities lack basic medical
protocol, and local cultures often
bear pain in private and don’t
share information with strangers.
We find creative ways of assessing
and triaging while gently prying
out of the culturally shy whatever
important medical history we can.”
Habeck says many of the standards
of care that are taken for granted in
the US are anomalies in Micronesia.
“Here, we can’t expect nurses’ notes,
discharge summaries, HIPPA forms,
sets of vital signs and the like. Instead
our medical staff look for physical
signs portending consequences, so
they can make educated guesses as
to what specific, immediate attention
is needed.”
All CareJet nurses are trained in
critical care and have at least two
years of work experience. CareJet
nurses, doctors and paramedics
are certified in ACLS (advanced
cardiac life support), PALS (pediatric
advanced life support), neonatal life
support, and even ATLS (advanced
trauma life support).
Sweating it out in the tropics
“There’snothingdomesticaboutwhatwe
do out here. Our transfers are 3,000 and
3,800 miles.”

FIXED WING 21
Eagle Air Med hit the headlines
in the US this December, with
stories of a former pilot’s lawsuit
against the company and the loss
of a plane in October. According
to the reports, pilot Tod Wilson
claimed wrongful termination
stemming from an incident in
September where he refused
to fly a plane with a broken ice
vane, which he believed to be
unsafe. We asked Eagle Air Med
to give their view
For the most part, those in the
emergency medical fields are
individuals who are happy working
behind the scenes, people who
don’t care about getting credit
for their accomplishments. Their
primary reward is making a positive
difference in people’s lives.
For many of the more than 17
medical crewmembers, 15 pilots,
and nearly 30 support staff of Eagle
Air Med, of Blanding, Utah, making
a difference is what keeps them
motivated.
“I have been with Eagle Air Med
for nearly 10 years,” said Jason Lin,
Eagle Air Med’s chief flight nurse.
“I enjoy the community approach
Eagle Air Med takes to the business
as well as the opportunity it gives
me to use my skills and advocate to
help others.”
Eagle Air Med flight crews live in
the communities they serve, which
gives them unique and personal
relationships with those in the
community.
“Often, I am able to see firsthand
the positive effect Eagle Air Med has
in the communities it serves,” said
Eva Workman, an Eagle Air Med
employee. “In part, this inspires
me to continue working for a
company that makes a difference in
someone’s life everyday and in turn
makes a difference in my life.”
Recently, Eagle Air Med has been
thrust into a spotlight of a different
kind. This past October, the
company lost three crewmembers
when a flight went down in rugged
terrain – the only fatal accident in
the company’s 25-year history.
Now, a former pilot of Eagle Air
Med has filed a wrongful termination
lawsuit against the company alleging
he was terminated after refusing to
fly a fixed-wing flight.
Eagle Air Med vice-president
James Hunt said he is unable to
comment specifically regarding the
grievance, but says this is an isolated
case and that Eagle Air Med has a
history of providing a safe, enjoyable
and rewarding work environment.
Adding that the company only
operates with the most modern
flight and medical equipment to
ensure the best working conditions
and exceptional critical care for the
areas it serves.
“Unfortunately there are times
when a company/employee
relationship doesn’t work out and it
is best to dissolve the relationship,”
added Hunt. “In this case,
terminating employment was the
right choice.”
For many, the best barometer of a
company’s quality is not one voice,
but the collective voice of those it
serves. “Eagle Air Med’s flight crews
are an exceptional group of people,
the flight nurses and paramedics’ skill
and knowledge are outstanding,”
said Johanna Bahe RN, paediatric
supervisor at Chinle Hospital. “When
we call on them to care for our
patients, I am confident our patients
will receive the highest level of care
possible. Eagle Air Med treats our
patients with dignity and respect and
have always been sensitive to the
traditional values of our patients.”
Evaluating customers from another
view point, Shanon Pollock, Eagle
Air Med business development
manager said: “On a weekly basis,
I have the opportunity to mingle
with our customers and I know the
positive feelings they have about the
organisation.” Shanon continued:
“Current and past employees of
any organisation may express their
feelings about a company and its
practices, but if any outside entity
desires a true understanding of an
organisation, they must look to the
company’s customers.”
For Eagle Air Med, the last few
months in the spotlight has cast
shadows on a company with a
stellar history. For more than 25
years, the company has served
the Four Corners Area, which
comprises Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico and Utah. During this time,
the company has completed more
than 21,000 transports to patients
who have required basic, advanced
and critical care life support services.
Eagle Air Med and its employees
continue to provide this important
work, and once the spotlight fades,
they will continue their work behind
the scenes work that like all those in
the emergency medical fields quietly
makes a difference in people’s lives.
Shadows cast on Utah company
The Eagle Air Med case has
echoes of an incident that
was settled in September
last year, when a former
CareFlight pilot for Miami
Valley Hospital (MVH)
refused to fly helicopters he
felt were unsafe and won a
wrongful termination lawsuit
against the hospital and the
company’s base manager.
Administrative judge Joseph
Kane ordered the hospital and
CJ Systems Aviation Group
Inc. to pay the pilot, Richard
Evans, nearly $80,000 in back
pay plus interest, $100,000 in
compensatory damages and
all his legal expenses. Kane
also ordered the organisations
to give Evans his job back,
with immediate effect.

FIXED WING22
First US air ambulance base for China
US-based air ambulance
company AirMed
International recently announced
plans to open its first international
base of operations in Hong Kong,
which is scheduled to commence
business in March. The company
commented that with corporations
from around the world already
conducting business in China, the
new base will fill a need within the
air ambulance industry.
AirMed CEO Jeffrey Tolbert said:
“It will always be our first choice
to use our aircraft to transport
our customers and to utilise our
own highly trained medical and
flight crews. AirMed’s expansion
into China will allow us to achieve
the kind of world-class care and
transportation expected and will
give AirMed a wider range of
capabilities in long and short-range
patient transports.”
The company is proud to point
out that the new base will make
AirMed the first US air ambulance
company with a permanent
home in Asia. From the Hong
Kong base, AirMed will provide
worldwide service to its customers
using a Raytheon Hawker 800
aircraft, the third Hawker in
AirMed’s fleet. The Hawker aircraft
spent approximately 90 days in
maintenance being fitted out as
state-of-the-art medical jet.
Matching AirMed’s other Hawker
long-range aircraft, the new plane
boasts the standard gaseous oxygen
systems as well as a liquid oxygen
system, allowing longer transport
for ventilator-dependent patients
without replenishing the onboard
oxygen supply. Further benefits of
the aircraft include a stand-up cabin
to providing maximum benefits for
chest compressions, an enclosed
lavatory, and a state-of-the-art
satellite and data transmission
network, capable of transmitting
real-time aircraft tracking
information. This system provides
immediate voice communication
via satellite, making communication
possible from virtually anywhere in
the world at any time.
Although based in Hong Kong,
the aircraft is US registered,
operated by US licensed flight
crews and staffed with Western-
trained medical crews, meeting
the same exacting standards as
AirMed’s 10 other aircraft currently
operating in the US. Flights will be
staffed with physicians and nurses
experienced in a wide variety of
critical care specialties that may be
required for adult, paediatric, and
neonatal transports. The China
operations will be based on the
company’s established US model.
AirMed maintains company-wide
accreditation with the Commission
on Accreditation of Medical
Transport Systems (CAMTS) and
is an approved air carrier for the
US Department of Defense (DoD)
Commmercial Airlift Review Board
(CARB) as part of the DoD Air
Transport Program.
Commenting on the experience of
setting up on Chinese soil, Denise
Treadwell, AirMed executive vice-
president, said: “The challenges we
faced in credentialing medical teams
for the Chinese operations have
been many. However, we’ve enjoyed
tremendous support from not only
local officials, but from the air
ambulance industry as a whole in
determining differences in training
and licensure between the two
countries. It’s been a very rewarding
experience thus far, and we have
been successful in attracting highly
qualified personnel.”
AirMed has also opened
membership sales offices in Beijing,
Hong Kong, Shanghai, and
Singapore and will sell individual
and family memberships for
the AirMed Traveller (AMT)
programme to residents in Asia’s
Pacific Rim. AMT brings its
members home to the hospital of
choice if hospitalised 150 miles or
more from home. Memberships
in Asia will be similar to AirMed’s
US and Canada memberships and
will be offered to Chinese nationals
as well as expatriates and other
residents in that region of the world.
AirMed International (ITIJ Air
Ambulance Provider of the Year
2007 – see page 14) currently
operates from three US bases in
Birmingham, Alabama, Honolulu,
Hawaii and Rochester, Minnesota,
where it serves as the fixed-wing
operator for the world-renowned
Mayo Clinic. The company was
recently chosen as the fixed-wing
provider for Cleveland Clinic, and
will open its fifth base of operations
in Cleveland later in 2008.
New aircraft in ADAC fleet
ADAC-Ambulance Service (ITIJ
Air Ambulance Provider finalist
– see page 14) extended its fleet in
January to include a new Learjet
35A, based in Cologne, Germany.
Describing the aircraft as state-of-
the-art, the company said it has a
capacity to carry two patients, with
a range of 3,700 kilometres (2,000
nautical miles), a cruise ceiling of
13,700 metres (45,000 feet) and
a maximum cruise speed of 820
kilometres per hour (440 knots).
Medical equipment includes an
optional incubator and external
pacemaker.
AirMed’snewHawker800willbebasedinHongKong AirMed
The challenges we faced
in credentialing medical
teams for the Chinese
operations have been many
AirMed International is heading east, with the opening of its new base in Hong Kong and additional sales
offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore. Sarah Lee talks to AirMed about working in the region

FIXED WING 23
Charity service takes
flight in Indianapolis
Grace on Wings, a charity air
ambulance service, has been
launched with the help of a network
of churches and a backer that put
down the money for the plane, a
Mitsubishi MU-2.
From a hangar on the lonely back
side of Indianapolis International
Airport, Hal Blank and his three-
member volunteer flight and
medical crew pick up and drop off
people who are in need that cannot
afford a normal air ambulance
service. “We pick you up from your
bed, and we deliver you home
and tuck you in,” said Blank, an
army-trained pilot and orthopaedic
physician’s assistant. “It’s a bed-to-
bed service.”
It took Grace on Wings over a
year to complete its maiden flight
as it faced cashflow issues. One
of only a handful of charity air
ambulances operating in the US,
the company’s volunteers have said
they see their work as more than
just an ambulance service. To them,
it is a ministry, with each and every
passenger receiving a bible that is
equal to a physician’s desk reference
book.
Patients who need emergency
transport typically qualify for their
health insurance to cover the
cost of the transfer, while non-
emergency patients who can walk
and don’t need close monitoring
can use services such as Angel
Flight. However, for patients that
are stable but bedridden, the
options are few and far between
if they cannot pay out of their
own pocket for an air ambulance
ride back home. Although Grace
on Wings is not cost-free, it aims
to only charge around a quarter
of the normal cost of a flight. Its
ultimate goal, though, it to line
up enough corporate sponsors,
private foundations and additional
supporters to further reduce this
cost, if not eliminate it entirely.
Grace on Wings
Although Grace on Wings is not cost-free, it
aims to only charge around a quarter of the
normal cost of a flight
A new charity air ambulance transport service has lifted
off in the US. Mandy Aitchison checks out the details

FIXED WING24
The International Travel Insurance Journal
Air Ambulance Provider
of the Year
Nominee – Skyservice
Since its inception in 1989,
over 13,000 patients have
been safely transported
on behalf of Skyservice
Air Ambulance clients
worldwide. Skyservice Air
Ambulance was established
with the philosophy of
providing optimal service
both to the client and
the patient. In the past
year alone, Skyservice Air
Ambulance has conducted
650 missions, flying some
6,200 hours and travelling
around the world multiple times
to come to the aid of critically ill
and injured patients.
Skyservice increased its service
capacity with an additional contracted
aircraft in Vancouver, Canada, which is
staffed, trained, and indirectly managed
by Skyservice Air Ambulance, adding to a
fleet of five Learjet 35A air ambulances equipped
with state-of-the-art intensive care facilities from
bases both in Montreal and Toronto. Skyservice
Air Ambulance became licensed by the State of
Florida and has achieved certification from the
European Aero Medical Institute (EURAMI).
Looking to the future, Skyservice says: “As
the industry continues to grow, and patients
with multiple medical conditions increase
in numbers, how we manage the risk of
transporting these patients will be our
greatest challenge. With our philosophy of
optimal service, medically advanced fleet and
dedicated physicians and nurses, it is a challenge
we are ready to face.”
ASSISTANCE/CLAIMS
HANDLER OF THE YEAR
T
he International Travel Insurance Journal
Awards are held annually, and aim to
recognise industry greatness, from the
insurers and assistance companies to the air
ambulance companies that they use. The
awards ceremony is held at the end of the
International Travel Insurance Conference
in November.
The recognition that comes with
receiving an ITIJ award for Air Ambulance
Provider of the Year is underlined by the
award itself being presented by esteemed
industry personnel. Being nominated is
no mean feat either, as last year’s nominees
would tell you. It is about
your company being
recognised as a leader in
its class – a vital, life-saving
class. Mandy Aitchison
caught up with the 2007
winner and finallists
Nominee – ADAC-
AmbulanceService
The foundation of ADAC-
AmbulanceService in 1973
in Munich, Germany, put
ADAC’s air rescue system
on an international basis.
ADAC-AmbulanceService
organises and carries out
patient transports worldwide
on ground and by air. The
services range from transfer by ground ambulance to
repatriation of intensive care patients in ADAC’s
own ambulance jets. The ADAC fleet comprises
Dornier-Fairchild 328-300 jets, Beechcraft Super
King Air A350 and several Lear jets, equipped
with state-of-the-art intensive care facilities.
Highly qualified medical staff specialised in
emergency medical assistance, intensive care
and flight medicine accompany these transfers,
ensuring that patients and their relatives are
looked after personally.
ADAC-AmbulanceService attends to
approximately 40,000 patients per year
and carries out some 15,000 air and
ground transports.

FIXED WING 25
Nominee – Canadian Global Air Ambulance
Canadian Global Air Ambulance is an
international air ambulance organisation,
providing a wide range of aeromedical solutions
for private individuals, the insurance industry
and government organisations, across Canada
and around the world. The company says:
“Our approach is unique in that we offer a fully
integrated, client-centred service. This means
our medical, flight and customer relations
departments operate under one roof.”
The company boasts a call centre, staffed round
the clock by on-site flight co-ordinators and nurse
managers, and is owner operator of a fleet of
Learjet series aircraft ‘specifically dedicated to
the air ambulance role, equipped with the latest
aeronautical technology providing for unrestricted
worldwide operations’. Canadian Global says its
strategic base locations in Vancouver, Winnipeg
and Toronto maximise its geographic coverage
and provide for rapid dispatch.
Winner – AirMed International, LLC
Over the past year, AirMed International has
enjoyed unprecedented growth in all aspects of
its operations. Last year AirMed celebrated its
12,000th transport mission; received its fourth
CAMTS accreditation; opened a new, state-of-
the-art operations center; launched a major brand
awareness and marketing campaign; initiated new
membership plans; launched a new website;
received endorsements from across the country;
and conducted 2,500 missions, encompassing
evacuations from six of the seven continents.
AirMed is, the company says, ‘the busiest and
fastest growing air ambulance programme in the
US’, adding that it has never ‘sacrificed quality of
patient care or safety to ensure this growth’.
This past year brought recognition and praise
to the AirMed management staff from both
CAMTS and the Department of Defense, citing
them for ‘exceeding standards’ and for ‘continued
operational excellence’. The Birmingham,
Alabama-based company claims an impeccable
safety record and ‘the most experienced medical
teams in the US’. AirMed now employs 168 flight
and medical team staff from its three bases of
operations – Alabama, Minnesota, and Hawaii,
and is in the final stages of opening its fourth base
in Hong Kong, which AirMed says will make it the
first US air ambulance company to operate in Asia
(see page 22).
Last year AirMed created a free service and
website, weatherturndown.com, designed for
use by all air medical programmes in the US,
including rotor and fixed-wing. The site allows
programmes to share information regarding
delays or cancellations due to weather.
AirMed now covers 1.5 million lives in the US
and Canada through its membership programme
and is the exclusive fixed-wing transport for the
world-renowned Mayo Clinic. The company
says its reputation leads it to routinely provide
services for numerous Fortune 500 companies,
world-renowned medical centers, international
assistance companies, major universities,
embassies and other foreign government
agencies, and adds: “AirMed remains one of only
three US Department of Defense approved
carriers and is the only true air ambulance
provider in the US trusted to provide coverage
for major insurance carrier Blue Cross and Blue
Shield. AirMed’s fleet of eight fully customised
medical aircraft are used exclusively for patient
transports and includes Hawker 800s, the largest
permanently configured medical jets in the US.”
clockwise from top: the awards ceremony at the Molino Stucky Hilton in Venice, onboard an ADAC flight, patient transferral ADAC style,
AirMed CEO Jeffrey Tolbert receives the award, and at home with his fleet, nominee Skyservice, and an AirMed transfer in Hawaii.
It is about your company
being recognised as a
leader in its class – a vital,
life-saving class.

26
ROTARY
AIIMS adds air ambulance service
The All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS),
located in New Delhi, has long
been India’s pre-eminent medical
facility. Since 1956, AIIMS
has been established to provide
excellence in healthcare, medical
training, and education. As a
reflection of this commitment,
AIIMS will soon become the first
government medical facility with air
ambulance capabilities.
Doctors and the country’s senior
health officials say an air ambulance
service is badly needed, as almost
50 per cent of critically ill or
injured patients in India die en route
to hospital. AIIMS recently sought
authorisation from the Ministry
of Civil Aviation to construct a
helipad and provide the service, and
permission has been granted.
Regional doctors have applauded
the decision, but fear the cost of
air transfer to hospital may make
it inaccessible to the patients
who need it most. One doctor
commented: “Keeping in mind the
dense population and
heavy traffic in Delhi, air
ambulances could be a
great help.” He pointed
out, however, that the
expense involved in
airlifting patients will
have to be underwritten.
No details on the actual
helicopters to be used
have yet been revealed.
The plan is to have the air
ambulance made up of a
crew including paramedics
and a doctor trained to
handle critical patients.
The staff on board and
on the ground will be
trained in the special
needs of transporting patients
using helicopters. The service
will be available at the AIIMS
trauma centre, which has been
operational for just about a
year now.
Dr Shakti Gupta, AIIMS
spokesperson, said: “While some
private hospitals across the country
and in Delhi have air ambulance
service, AIIMS is the first
government hospital in the country
which has made a provision for a
helipad at its newly constructed
trauma centre.”
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences has become India’s
first government hospital to add an air ambulance service to its
emerging trauma centre, as Steve Goodman reports
AIIMS is the first government hospital in the
country which has made a provision for a helipad
AllIndiaInstituteofMedicalSciences,NewDelhi
North Texas-based Bell
Helicopter is to lay off
around five per cent of its
workforce this year, according to
a recent company announcement.
Although officials could not give
an exact number or date, they said
the layoffs were needed for cost
reductions and ‘to better align
the organisational structure [of
the company] with strategies for
future growth’.
Richard Millman, president
and CEO of Bell Helicopter,
acknowledged it was a difficult
decision to cut some staff, ‘but the
facts are that Bell must undergo
some changes in the short term to
prepare for the long-term future’.
He added: “We must reduce
operating costs to assure that
our products will be competitive
in the marketplace. We will do
this by increasing our efficiency
while reducing redundancies and
flattening the organisation.” The
company employs around 44,000
across the globe.
Meanwhile, Bell has announced
that it is optimising its commercial
product line in order to better serve
its customer base and accelerate
deliveries of its high-demand
aircraft. Currently, the company
is seeing huge demand for its 412,
407 and new 429 commercial
products and is taking steps
to transform itself into a more
streamlined company.
Mr Macmillan stated: “Our most
recent analysis of the marketplace
has indicated increased demand
for our 407 and 412 commercial
helicopters, along with our 429
model. We are fully booked on these
models until 2010, and as a result,
we are both significantly increasing
overall capacity and eliminating
production of some lower volume
products.” A detailed analysis of the
company’s internal structures has
yielded a more strategic allocation
of resources and real-time decision
making that Bell hopes will enable
it to deliver a larger number of
helicopters each year.
Bob Fitzpatrick, senior vice-
president for marketing and sales,
observed: “When we looked at
the marketplace, we identified
important trends in the market
segments we serve. The data
validated that the capabilities of our
most popular models, along with
our new product offerings, are well
matched to meet market needs and
we expect it will continue to ensure
Bell’s strong competitiveness.”
Bell to lay off employees

2
ROTARY
Prince William Sound in
the Gulf of Alaska, US,
proudly displays steep
fjords, stunning coastlines and
glaciers, and heavy rain. The sea in
the Sound is a paddlers’ paradise
of steep-sided coves, islands and
channels; the land is a mountainous
rainforest. But while Mother Nature
is the creator of such beauty, she
can also be an unforgiving force.
After the first hour of their search
near the Sound, rescue services
had seen no sign of wreckage – no
passengers, no emergency locator
device, nothing. Heavy snow, freezing
rain, strong winds at 25 miles per
hour and poor visibility hindered
search efforts the first day, keeping
helicopters grounded and limiting
the eager C-130s to electronic
and radar searches, according to a
spokesman for the military’s Rescue
Coordination Center.
A Eurocopter BK117 LifeGuard
Alaska helicopter carrying patient
Gay McDowell, 60, of Cordova;
pilot Lance Brabham, 42, of
Soldotna; paramedic Cameron
Carter, 25, of Kenai; and flight
nurse John Stumpff, 47, of Sterling
vanished in the wicked weather on
the evening of Monday 3 December
after lifting off from Cordova
airport at 4:40 p.m. to fly to
Providence Alaska Medical Center
in Anchorage.
The helicopter crew last made
contact with operators shortly after
5 p.m. on 3 December as they flew
near Esther Island, about 75 miles
southeast of Anchorage, according
to officials with the Air National
Guard. The trip from Cordova to
Anchorage is about 150 miles by
air and takes approximately 90
minutes.
At the time of the flight, the
National Weather Service issued
advisories alerting pilots about the
turbulence and low visibility. A
Pavehawk helicopter and a C-130
from the Alaska Air National Guard,
and a Jayhawk helicopter from the
Coast Guard conducted the rescue
search by air. The Coast Guard
Cutter Sycamore continued its water
search with the assistance of three
private fishing boats from Whittier.
By 8 December, searchers
found the body of flight nurse
John Stumpff on the north shore
of Passage Canal near Whittier,
according to McHugh Pierre,
a spokesman for the Alaska
Department of Military and
Veterans Affairs.
On the same day, the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
and the leasing company identified
the left rear sliding door, medical
equipment, and two helmets that
belonged to Stumpff and Brabham.
However, with three people still
missing, authorities ended their
week-long search two days after
Stumpff’s body was found.
“All indications show there are
no survivors,” said Pierre. “In seven
days, we did not find any sign of
human activity.”
The shift from rescue to recovery
required the Alaska Air National
Guard and the US Coast Guard
to end their involvement, with the
Alaska State Troopers taking the
lead in any future recovery efforts.
“Our goal, our wish, would be to
be able to recover the wreckage,”
NTSB investigator Clint Johnson
said. “In the next few days, we’ll
see if an underwater search is even
feasible. Depths there can be in
excess of 600 feet, which puts it out
of reach of normal diving depths.”
Johnson met with officials from
both LifeGuard Alaska, the air
ambulance service managed by
Providence Alaska Medical Center,
and Evergreen Helicopters of Alaska,
the owner of the missing helicopter
and the employer of the pilot.
A memorial service was held Friday
7 December at the LifeGuard Alaska
hangar in Anchorage for the four
lives lost at sea.
Lives lost at sea – quiet the Sound
Amy G McGuire reports on the loss of a LifeGuard Alaska helicopter in Prince William Sound
while Mother Nature is the creator of such
beauty, she can also be an unforgiving force

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