Scandinavian MediCopter, a subsidiary of Scandinavian AirAmbulance, has launched its Bell 429 in HEMS operations for Region Gotland in Visby. The aircraft, the first one of its type in Scandinavia, was placed in medical alert yesterday, and it has already done its first mission.

Gotland’s EMS helicopter is primarily engaged in inter-hospital transports between the island and various specialty hospitals on the mainland, but it is also used for local primary emergency responses and incubator transports. The helicopter, which flies roughly 500 missions a year, is crewed by one pilot, one anesthetic nurse, one HEMS crew member and, upon request, a doctor. The aircraft is stationed at the airport in Visby.

The contract for a new EMS helicopter was sealed in September 2012, when Gotland’s Municipality (Region Gotland) selected MediCopter as its medical air service provider for the next 5+2 years, starting from April 2014. MediCopter has been involved in the HEMS operations in Visby since 2007, when its predecessorLufttransport Svenska purchased SOS Helikoptern Gotland.

The new helicopter (SE-JRC) replaces an EC145, a type that has been in service on the picturesque island since it replaced a BK117 in December 2005. The Bell 429 is the first Bell product to be used in the EMS market in Sweden since the Swedish Armed Forces seized its Bell 412 operations in Lycksele in December 2002.

Reproduced from Nordic Rotors with permission. Copyright and full responsibility for the content of this article remains with Nordic Rotors