Metro Life Flight is an air ambulance service serving the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

area, and is part of the

MetroHealth The MetroHealth System is a nationally ranked non-profit, public health care system located in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1837 as City Hospital, The MetroHealth System serves the residents of the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. It is one ...

system. The system is fully CAMTS certified, and provides transport between local hospitals, as well as emergency transport to MetroHealth Medical Center, a

Level 1 Trauma Center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergen ...

History

Metro Life Flight was founded in 1982 as the first air medical program in Northeast Ohio. In 1984 the service switched a dual pilot system. In 2009 the main operating base was moved from MetroHealth Medical Center to three bases in the surrounding area. In 2010, the old fleet of

Sikorsky S-76 The Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-size commercial utility helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It is the company's first helicopter specifically developed for the civilian market. The S-76 w ...

helicopters was replaced by 3

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Ai ...

EC 145s. The program now has two bases, one in Lorain County, and one in Wayne County.

Current Bases

Metro Life Flight operates two aerial bases: * Lorain County Regional Airport * Wayne County Airport (Ohio) Ground operations are conducted out of MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

Crew

Each flight is staffed by two instrument rated pilots, a physician or nurse practitioner, and a registered nurse. The pilots are mostly ex-military, and are fully trained and certified for night vision goggle operations.

Fleet

The main rotor fleet consists of three

EC145 The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which ...

s with 2 in service. Each helicopter is capable of caring for patients with serious trauma, acute cardiac emergencies, and childbirth. There has been one incident in the service's 35-year history with a piece of construction material pulled into the rotor system, striking the main rotor, and causing a hard landing.{{Cite web , title=Crew unharmed in July 4 crash that damaged Metro Life Flight at Wayne County Airport , url=https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-wayne/crew-unharmed-in-july-4-crash-that-damaged-metro-life-flight-at-wayne-county-airport?_amp=true , access-date=2022-10-15 , website=www.news5cleveland.com All ground transport vehicles are equipped with identical capabilities.

References

Air ambulance services in the United States Organizations based in Cleveland