During the night between Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th May, on the orders of the Air Operations Command (COA), a 94-year-old elderly woman was transferred to Palermo Boccadifalco by a helicopter from the 82nd CSAR Centre of Trapani. At 00:25 on Thursday 12th, the helicopter took off, on the orders of the Air Operations Command (COA) in Poggio Renatico (Ferrara), to reach the island with the task of transporting the elderly islander to Palermo who was suffering from severe cardiac decompensation, putting her in imminent danger of death.
A doctor and a nurse from Trapani's 118 emergency service boarded the HH-3F. Once they arrived on the island, they assessed the elderly woman's health and arranged for her immediate boarding. Due to poor weather conditions, the crew managed to land at the island's sports field by using night vision goggles (NVG). At 01:30, the helicopter then took off for Palermo Boccadifalco Airport. The crew, consisting of Major Giacomo Zanetti (pilot and crew chief), Captain Dario Bertolone (second pilot), Warrant Officer Giuseppe Oddo and Sergeant Alessandro Onizzi (onboard operators), Flight Sergeant Antonio Maurizio San Brunone (air rescuer), and Flight Sergeant Clemente Adragna (health assistant), arrived at Palermo Boccadifalco Airport at 01:50, leaving the elderly woman in the care of Palermo's 118 medical staff. At 02:40, the HH-3F helicopter returned to its base in Trapani.
The 82nd Centre is one of the SAR (Search and Rescue) squadrons of the 15th Wing that guarantees 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the search and rescue of aircrews in distress, also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in mountains, the urgent medical transport of patients in life-threatening conditions, and the rescue of severely injured individuals. Since its establishment to date, the aircrews of the 15th Wing have saved approximately 7,000 people in potentially fatal situations.
