Hi guys,
Regards EU OPS etc, the service is quite legal operating as is - simply, the IAA doesn’t have their hands tied, it’s just that they’re not the regulator of the military.
I also agree that the AAIU will provide an impartial report.
Regards experience - each pilot on the initial start up service had in the region of two thousand hours at least, including many off field landings and inter hospital air ambulance flights on multiple aircraft types. The focus was always on flight safety and there was a sense of proceeding carefully to avoid the unknown unknowns.
With regards to the initial selection of the 135, the calls were expected to come from a much smaller area. One that was suitable for a 135. As time went on and the 139 took over, the calls coming from the whole country meant a bigger aircraft was required.
As an Irish solution to an Irish problem - maybe! HEMS has been talked about for years without anything ever happening because of the cost. As has happened before in Ireland, the Air Corps launched the service. See also SAR and inter hospital transfers. I honestly don’t believe there would be an operating HEMS in Ireland today if EAS hadn’t started as it did. Remember, the first year was a trial to prove a requirement.
The safety culture and SMS in the Air Corps matured considerably during my time there and no one has need to worry about the outlook of crews flying there today.
Best regards to all, I’m not seeking to be argumentative in my replies but I’ve been fortunate to have flown a bit on EAS when I was serving and would like to see it judged on all its pros and cons.
Dec