Re: [Paddlewise] picks up the tab on rescues

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Carter" <revkayak_at_aptalaska.net>
To: "paddlewise" <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net>

>     As the story now unfolds it seems the medivac was unnecesary. The
> trainee had badly cut  his  thumb but the first aid rendered on the scene
> had stopped the bleeding. The rescue call came at night and the conditions
> were bad. Rain and wind.

typically here in the US the regulations as applies to aircraft borne
rescues is that the go-no go decision is to be made only by the aircraft
crew and they are to have no knowledge of the particulars of the medical
condition or urgency. IE they are not allowed to take the initial call for
rescue in order to prevent them making the choice based on urgency of the
medical aid needed but instead on the actual viability of successfully
carrying out the operation given current meteorological condition. A few
years back we had an operator here in Maine who was attempting to get a
helo/medevac operation going, was short staffed and took the call himself.
Alterior motives of business viability came in to play and he made a number
of bad choices. Sadly his passangers, crew and patient (a burn case) were
killed when he ran out of fuel as a result of increased headwinds and delays
and had to park it in the water in the middle of a snowstorm. He survived
after treading water for several hours.

michael
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