DRF air rescue
Filderstadt
There was a special congratulation on the 50th anniversary of the DRF Luftrettung mission in Nuremberg today: Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the two stations of the non-profit air rescue organization based there in the afternoon. The tour of an H145 helicopter with a five-blade rotor and rescue winch was followed by a discussion with the CEO of DRF Luftrettung, Dr. Krystian Pracz, and a response crew. The Federal Chancellor informed himself about the equipment of the state-of-the-art aircraft and about the day-to-day operations of the helicopter crews. In a concluding statement, he underlined the central role of air rescue in comprehensive emergency care for the population in Germany and congratulated the DRF Luftrettung on their anniversary.
The sun was shining when Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived on the apron at Nuremberg Airport, where he was greeted by Dr. Krystian Pracz and Jan Bruns, general manager at Nuremberg Airport. The crews of Christoph 27 and Christoph Nürnberg were waiting for him at the helicopter flying performance of the machine explained. In the helicopter cabin, the Federal Chancellor informed himself in detail about the state-of-the-art medical equipment of the helicopter, which was also equipped with a rescue winch and a recovery bag.
As part of a tour of the station building, the Federal Chancellor then tested one of the in a darkened room night vision devices, which the pilots of the intensive care transport helicopter Christoph Nürnberg use during their missions in the dark. Wilhelm Pfitzinger, station manager and pilot of the Christoph Nürnberg, explained how the residual light intensifier works and the advantages in night-time use. Also the possible uses the rescue winch came up. With a rope length of 90 meters, it allows emergency medical care and rescue of seriously ill and injured patients, even in difficult or inaccessible terrain. The crew reported in conversation about the challenges in everyday operations and explained the range of applications for the two helicopters as well as the special technical qualifications of the colleagues. The current structure of air rescue, questions about training and new aeronautical procedures were also discussed.
Thanks and outlook
The DRF Luftrettung has already performed more than a million missions, emphasized Dr. Krystian Pracz at the end of the visit to the station hangar and continued: “We are proud of this number and that you, Mr on behalf of the entire DRF Luftrettung and all crews. It means a lot to us, that our work gets this attention, especially in times when the rescue services as a whole sometimes have to cope with very difficult tasks. My heartfelt thanks to you for this support!”
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz also addressed those present and thanked the air rescue services for 50 years of commitment and over a million missions. He combined his thanks and the statement that air rescue gives people in Germany a feeling of reliability with an appeal, among other things: “This is a very difficult and demanding task that is carried out by women and men who are committed to it prepared well, always doing long shifts and doing a lot of work. You saved the lives of many people. I am very impressed by the professionalism and the technical equipment that I saw here. That’s why I would like to thank you appealing to all of us to support the work that is being done here, I wish that we would all show responsibility and respect for this work and also for the necessity of this work. The Federal Republic of Germany will do everything to ensure that air rescue continues to function well.” He ended his words with good wishes for the further work of the DRF Luftrettung.
The Nuremberg stations of the DRF air rescue service
Two DRF Luftrettung helicopters are stationed at Nuremberg Airport. The Christoph 27 rescue helicopter is used in emergency rescue as a fast emergency doctor shuttle and for the fast and gentle transport of patients. It is operational from 7:00 a.m. to sunset and can reach locations within a radius of 60 kilometers within a maximum of 15 flight minutes. An EC135 machine with a rescue winch is used. This allows patients to be cared for and flown out, even in very inaccessible terrain. The emergency paramedics deployed have additional training as winch operators.
The intensive care transport helicopter Christoph Nürnberg is available for use around the clock. He is alerted for urgent transport between clinics, but also as a supplement in emergency rescue. The crews regularly perform highly demanding medical tasks, for example with the mobile heart-lung machine or the incubator. An H145 helicopter with a five-blade rotor is used.
Each crew includes a pilot (two at night), an emergency doctor and an emergency paramedic.
About the DRF air rescue
The DRF Luftrettung based in Filderstadt is one of the largest air rescue organizations in Europe. The non-profit organization provides emergency rescue services at 29 stations in Germany and transfers critically ill or injured people between clinics. The crews are ready for action around the clock at eleven of these stations, and helicopters with rescue hoists are deployed at four locations. In addition, the DRF Luftrettung brings patients back from abroad with its own ambulance aircraft. In total, the DRF Luftrettung carried out 39,308 missions in 2022.
More information at www.drf-luftrettung.de
Press contact:
DRF air rescue
Rita-Maiburg-Strasse 2
D-70794 Filderstadt
[email protected]
Stefanie Kap
Tel. +49 711 70072205
[email protected]
Original content from: DRF Luftrettung, transmitted by news aktuell