Helicopter pilots
All LAR helicopter pilots must meet special requirements in order to fulfil the demanding tasks of rescue missions, including frequent take-offs. They dispose of many years of flight experience (over 2.000 flight hours are required for hiring) in order to being able to master all sorts of unusual conditions they may encounter during the flight.
In their daily missions, LAR helicopter crews only learn about the destination of their flight upon receiving the emergency call. As the helicopter takes off within 2 minutes after the alert, no detailed and finalised flight plan can be prepared in advance and everything needs to be carried out in an organised and coordinated way. Once arrived on site, the crew rapidly needs to find a safe and suitable landing spot. In addition to the emergency (112) rescue missions, the helicopter pilots furthermore carry out uncommon interventions using specialised equipment, such as the long-line or a water bucket, as well as search and rescue missions.
Air ambulance pilots
In addition to several years of experience, air ambulance pilots need to be team players and pass psychological tests before joining the LAR. All LAR pilots also need to complete specific “Type-Rating” training courses for each individual airplane models in order to comply with the different flight specifications. Co-pilots further undergo continuous training courses in order to be trained as captains.
Unlike their colleagues in the commercial sector, LAR pilots do not always land on the same runways. They only learn the details of their missions and destinations a couple of hours prior to take-off and therefore have to be able to easily adapt to the destination as well as cultural specifications. They are also in direct contact with the patients, who require the complete care and attention of all crew members.
Intensive care nurses
LAR intensive care nurses operate in a wide field of tasks, thus requiring several years of medical experience, including significant experience in emergency and intensive care medicine.
In the context of helicopter rescue missions, they fulfil a double role: First, as co-pilots during the outward journey, they assist the pilot in locating the emergency site, in choosing a suitable landing area, and in ensuring that the necessary medical help gets to the patient fast and safe. From the landing to the return to the hospital, they act as rescue workers through their initial role as intensive care nurse by administering emergency first-aid following the doctor’s instructions.
LAR intensive care nurses also accompany patients on board of the air ambulances during international repatriations. Along with the LAR doctor, they take care of a sick or injured patient from the hospital abroad up to their hospital bed at home. Before, during and after the flight, they attend to the patient’s needs and carry out all necessary medical treatment until the arrival in the hospital at home.
Doctors
35 freelance doctors, mostly anaesthetists and intensive care physicians specialised in emergency healthcare, work for the Luxembourg Air Rescue. They accompany and guarantee the medical treatment on board the air ambulances during repatriations from abroad. Prior to take-off, they clarify the patient’s condition and his/her medical history, to subsequently escort them from the hospital abroad to the hospital in their own country. Experienced paediatricians are called upon, if the patient is a young child or a baby.
Furthermore, an LAR emergency doctor is on daily duty for the Air Rescue 3 helicopter at the Findel airport, in order to accompany transfer flights between Luxembourgish hospitals and specialised hospitals in Luxembourg or neighbouring countries. He/she also carries out rescue missions in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in Germany.
Technicians and Engineers
Qualified LAR technicians carry out helicopter repairs and maintenance within the LAR hangars. According to the EASA Part 145, LAR technicians can carry out all line- and base maintenance work. The combination of long lasting experiences, the availability of teams around the clock, as well as the regular and frequent drills carried out by the maintenance department staff, guarantees the safety and efficiency of LAR helicopter flights throughout the year.
Since 2015 LAR also has an internal maintenance service for its aircraft fleet. Since then, the "Line Maintenance" on the LAR aircraft is no longer carried out by external technicians but by the qualified LAR technicians within the LAR hangars. In addition, since January 2017 the internal LAR maintenance service has been authorized to carry out "600-hour inspections" on its aircraft itself, which is part of the "Base Maintenance". LAR engineers are in charge of planning strategic maintenance works of the LAR air ambulances. The LAR engineers schedule the maintenance in order to have at least three medical air ambulances in service at all times.
Luxembourg Control Center missions:
- Consultation and assistance to LAR members in case of a medical emergency abroad.
- Worldwide organisation of patient transfers from one hospital to another via LAR air ambulances, commercial flights, or ground ambulances.
- Exhaustive medical exchange with the local doctors in order to establish a precise diagnosis while considering transportation limitations of the patient, thus compiling a comprehensive report for the doctor and nurse in charge of the patient inside the air ambulance.
- Flight preparations, notably clarification of the geopolitical situation of the destination country, flight traffic regulations, landing clearances, possible refuelling stop-overs, as well as numerous other aeronautical parameters.
- Organisation and coordination of organ transportations in France (excluding Paris).Close collaboration with international air ambulance providers in order to ensure rapid and efficient missions.
- Organisation and coordination of humanitarian mission in light of emergency.lu and in close collaboration with the Luxembourgish government, the NATO and the United Nations.
