More life-changing missions in 2018
A high altitude winch job in the dark to save a seriously injured digger driver is one mission that sticks in the mind of pilot Mike Parker.
The driver had rolled his
30-tonne machine down a 70-metre bank into a gravel pit in a forestry block near Raetihi on December 16, and getting him out was one of the
191 operations undertaken by the Taranaki Community Rescue Helicopter so far in 2018.
Parker, who has been a pilot with the service for six years, said it was one of more technical missions he had flown this year because the scene was surrounded by tall pine trees and he had to hover 55 metres above the ground.
‘‘By the time we pulled him out it was dark as well, so it was a night winch at 180 feet with trees all around.’’
Fortunately Parker had flown into the area earlier when it was still daylight and winched a St John paramedic down to the scene so had had the opportunity to identify reference points.
‘‘There’s a lot of factors in terms of lighting, wind and obstacles and that sort of stuff and a lot of decisions to be made about how to do it safely.
‘‘If you keep the helicopter in a safe and stable position, everything down below you is going to go well.’’
The patient was flown to Taranaki Base Hospital before being transferred to Auckland for more specialist care.
Andy Cronin, the service’s general manager and crewman, said the number of jobs and diversity of missions flown by the chopper continued to grow in 2018.
‘‘The demand continues to be strong for the service.’’
However not all of the missions had positive results. The helicopter attended a head-on car crash near Waverley in June and a bus crash near Tu¯ roa ski field, in the central North Island, in July.
Seven people died as a result of the car crash and an 11-year-old girl died after the bus rolled with another 18 people injured.
‘‘Those are jobs that didn’t have happy outcomes for us,’’ Cronin said. ‘‘We flew a patient who didn’t survive the flight, so those sort of jobs are challenging because ultimately you are trying to help people and it doesn’t always work.’’
Cronin said partnerships with the district health board and St John now saw the chopper being used more often for medical jobs with good success.
‘‘It’s life-changing stuff.’’
In October it was announced a partnership, called Central Air Ambulance Rescue Limited, had been awarded a four-year contract by the Ministry of Health and Accident Compensation Corporation, which ensured a rescue helicopter would be based in the region.
‘‘That’s pretty important for us that the Taranaki community is still served by a dedicated rescue helicopter.’’
The annual operation cost of the chopper was about $1.6 million.
The majority of the cost was funded through individual and corporate sponsors, so Cronin said the rescue helicopter service would still require the continued support of the local community.