iscover
The partnership between Air Ambulance Victoria and Babcock saw members from the 3rd Health Battalion being given advanced, practical training for the event of recovery missions.
The aeromedical provider, which recently invested in new AW139 rescue helicopters, said it assisted 8,838 people last year – up 4.2 per cent on 2024 – translating to one every 59 minutes. Its helicopter crews completed 3,857 missions, while its jet crews helped 1,014 people.
The provider, a joint venture between LifeFlight and the Linfox Group, began operations in the state on Monday with an initial fleet of three Bell 412 helicopters. It marks the end of an era, with Rotor-Lift having operated the Westpac rescue and Ambulance Tasmania helicopters for around 25 years.
The company, which will replace Rotor-Lift for aerial EMS in the state starting 12 January, says that most of its advertised pilot, air crew officer, and aircraft maintenance engineer positions have been filled by Rotor-Lift employees.
The company will partner with Indigenous aerospace consultancy Gunggandji Aerospace and the Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium to staff a new emergency services operations centre at Adelaide Airport, which will come online in November 2026.
The first of the upgraded helicopters, VH-LF3, touched down in Mount Isa this week, with LifeFlight chief executive Ashley van de Velde saying the AW139 is the perfect search and rescue aircraft to cover the long distances in the region.
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