An 89-year-old woman in a life-threatening condition was airlifted this afternoon by an HH139 helicopter from the Italian Air Force’s 15th CSAR Wing from Ponza to Latina, where she was admitted to hospital for specialist treatment. The patient was accompanied and monitored throughout the journey by a medical team. The mission was particularly challenging due to adverse weather conditions, resulting in limited visibility – conditions in which Italian Air Force crews are constantly trained to operate. The aircraft used – one of the assets that the Italian Air Force makes available, on operational standby, for emergency medical transport and search and rescue missions – took off from Pratica di Mare Airport, the base of the 15th Wing. The take-off order was given by the Air Force Command’s High-Level Situation Room,the Italian Air Force’s operations centre which is responsible – amongst other things – for coordinating and managing this type of mission for the benefit of the public, at the request of hospitals and prefectures throughout the country. The mission was then planned and managed by the Air Operations Command in Poggio Renatico (FE). Every year, Italian Air Force aircraft log hundreds of flight hours carrying out emergency medical transport – whether for people in life-threatening situations, medical teams and/or organs – as well as humanitarian flights and search and rescue missions. Crews from the 31st Wing at Ciampino, the 15th Wing at Cervia and the associated SAR (Search and Rescue) centres, the 46th Air Brigade in Pisa and the 14th Wing at Pratica di Mare are on standby 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to take off at a moment’s notice for any destination in Italy or abroad at the request of hospitals, prefectures and, in the case of overseas missions, diplomatic missions. In 2017 alone, over 450 flight hours were logged to provide assistance to more than 200 people in distress or facing imminent danger to their lives.
Hundreds of flight hours are carried out every year by Italian Air Force aircraft for urgent medical transports, both for people in life-threatening conditions and for teams and/or organs, for humanitarian flights, or for search and rescue missions. Crews from the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the 15th Wing of Cervia and its affiliated SAR (Search and Rescue) Centres, the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, and the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare are ready 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to take off at very short notice for any destination in Italy and abroad at the request of Hospitals, Prefectures, and in the case of missions abroad, by diplomatic representatives. In 2017 alone, over 450 flight hours were carried out to provide assistance to more than 200 people in difficulty or in imminent danger of death.
