A Falcon 50 of the 31st Wing transported a woman in life-threatening danger from Lamezia Terme to Bari, while a helicopter of the 15th Wing transported a man from a cruise ship to Trapani.
Between last night, Wednesday 8 March, and this morning, Thursday 9, a Falcon 50 aircraft of the 31st Ciampino (RM) Squadron and an HH139B helicopter of the 82nd Center Search and Rescue (SAR) of the’Italian Air Force they took to the air to two urgent medical transports.
The first life jacket It ended during the night, in favor of a Young woman (33 years old) who, due to serious health conditions caused by burns, has been Transferred from Lamezia Terme (CZ) to Bari. The Falcon 50, which took off from the military airport of Ciampino last night, reached the airport of Lamezia Terme where it picked up the woman and the medical team. Subsequently, the military aircraft took off again towards the airport of Bari Palese (BA), where shortly after midnight the patient and the medical staff were immediately transported by ambulance to the Policlinico di Bari. The medical flight was arranged at the request of the Prefecture of Vibo Valentia,from Summit Situation Room of the Air Force Command of the Air Force which, among its tasks, also includes coordinating such activities in favor of the civilian population throughout the national territory.
It second intervention, carried out by a HH-139B helicopter The 82nd SAR Center of the 15th Stormtrooper Squadron in Cervia took place around 6:00 a.m., to recover a 70-year-old man, A Spanish national, who suffered a heart attack while he was on board a cruise ship, approximately 60 nautical miles from the coast of Trapani. The helicopter immediately took off from the military airport in Trapani and, upon reaching the ship at around 6:15 – thanks also to the system Automatic Identification System,which allows to identify the boats through transponder Seaman – the crew recovered the man in a few minutes using a deployable rescue stretcher, an indispensable instrument where it is not possible to land, as in this case. Along with the patient, a nurse from the cruise ship was also boarded, who had been assisting the man from the very beginning. Once the boarding was safely completed, the helicopter headed to the “S. Antonio Abate” Hospital in Trapani, where it landed at approximately 7:20; the man was immediately handed over to the facility’s medical staff. The request for assistance, in this case received from Maritime Rescue Sub Center – M.R.S.C. of Palermo of Coastguard, was ordered by Rescue Coordination Centre of the Air Operations Command of the A.M., Based in Poggio Renatico (FE), the Air Force command and control center from which all operational activities of this kind are managed. After the rescue operation, the military crew returned to the base in Trapani Birgi, where they resumed their search and rescue readiness service.
Air Force flight divisions are available to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with vehicles and crews capable of operating even in complex weather conditions, to ensure the urgent transport not only of people in imminent danger of life, but also of organs, medical teams or ambulances.
Hundreds of flight hours are carried out each year for this type of intervention by the aircraft of the 31st Wing of Ciampino, of 14th Practice Wing of Pratica di Mare, of 46th Air Brigade of Pisa from the helicopters of the 15th Air Wing of Cervia.
