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University of Wisconsin Med Flight is an
The first operational flight was in April 1985 and carried a heart attack patient from Coloma, Wisconsin who survived. The initial staff was three doctors, six nurses, three pilots and one mechanic. There was no aircraft hangar and maintenance on the aircraft was performed outside with a helipad in the parking lot. There was also some controversy in nearby Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin over noise from the helicopter. 20 years later, it was staffed by a rotating crew of 23 doctors, 12 nurses, eight communications specialists and six pilots and had three helicopters and a ground ambulance. In 2005, an $8 million project created a heliport on the 8th floor rooftop of the hospital replacing the parking lot landing pad and created larger hangars to support three aircraft. The ambulance was added in 2004 for inter-hospital transports to reduce costs and free a helicopter for emergency transports.
Emergency Response Teams - Med Flight and C.H.E.T.A.
{{University of Wisconsin–Madison Air ambulance services in the United States University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical and health organizations based in Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Med Flight is an air ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
service based at University of Wisconsin Hospital
UW Health University Hospital (UW Health, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics or UWHC) is a 515-bed academic regional referral center with 127 outpatient clinics, located on the western edge of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's camp ...
in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
. Med Flight was established in 1985, and serves patients within a 250-mile radius of Madison.
History
The first operational flight was in April 1985 and carried a heart attack patient from Coloma, Wisconsin who survived. The initial staff was three doctors, six nurses, three pilots and one mechanic. There was no aircraft hangar and maintenance on the aircraft was performed outside with a helipad in the parking lot. There was also some controversy in nearby Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin over noise from the helicopter. 20 years later, it was staffed by a rotating crew of 23 doctors, 12 nurses, eight communications specialists and six pilots and had three helicopters and a ground ambulance. In 2005, an $8 million project created a heliport on the 8th floor rooftop of the hospital replacing the parking lot landing pad and created larger hangars to support three aircraft. The ambulance was added in 2004 for inter-hospital transports to reduce costs and free a helicopter for emergency transports.
Fleet
Since 2020, the Med Flight fleet consists of two Airbus EC 145 helicopters and one EC 135 helicopters operated by Metro Aviation. In 2014, the Med Flight fleet included two Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters, and replaced which was destroyed in a fatal crash on May 10, 2008. replaced in October 2014 as a part of an upgrade to standardize the interior layout of the two helicopters. In July 2007 the EC 135 helicopters, costing $4 million each and currently operated and maintained byAir Methods
Air Methods Corporation is an American privately owned helicopter operator. The air medical division provides emergency medical services to over 100,000 patients every year. It operates in 48 states with air medical as its primary business focus ...
, replaced two Agusta A109E 'Power' helicopters, two of which were and operated and maintained by CJ Systems Aviation Group.
Incidents
One of the Agusta aircraft was forced to make a precautionary landing in a field in the town ofRutland, Wisconsin
Rutland is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,977 by the US Census Bureau 2020 census The population was 1,887 at the 2000 census. However, for 2021, the Wisconsin Dept. of Administration declared the population ...
on Friday July 28, 2006 after an equipment warning light activated.
On May 10, 2008, helicopter known as Med Flight 1, crashed near La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...
, fatally injuring all three crew members. Initial reports indicated that the helicopter "may have flown into a hill and or struck some trees." Impact debris and rotor blade fragments were found near the top of the 1,160 feet elevation ridgeline about 4.5 miles south of La Crosse Airport. Main debris was located 600 feet below that point around 930 feet elevation. La Crosse Municipal Airport field elevation is 654 feet. On September 3 of 2010 the NTSB released its report, finding that the probable cause of the accident was, "The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees along the top of a ridgeline due to inadequate preflight planning, insufficient altitude, and the lack of a helicopter terrain awareness and warning system."
References
External links
Emergency Response Teams - Med Flight and C.H.E.T.A.
{{University of Wisconsin–Madison Air ambulance services in the United States University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical and health organizations based in Wisconsin