Hi
After having flown SAR/EMS in Sarawak, Tasmania, Vic Pol, NSCA, Saudi Arabia, Lismore and Newcastle (and the odd short contract for QES), I guess my first comment is that "it's just a job". And as everybody knows in these days of OH&S, every employee is entitled to as safe a working environment as possible.
My wish list for night EMS operations is:
1. Only allow landings at lit, surveyed helipads i.e. no descent below lowest safe unless landing at a previously surveyed, lit helipad. Why we have ever allowed the "black hole" approach to be undertaken is beyond me. I remember an old Senior Sgt from the Tasmania Police search and rescue squad, who told me, when I was a boggy, "never risk a life to save a life".
2. Get the charities out of the game. Their culture exerts all kinds of pressures on a professional pilot which are not normally found in commercial or government organisations.
3. Only allow "standby at the base" duty where the accommodation for the crew is slightly removed from the base itself and the organisation who employs the pilots signs an agreement with CASA (or who ever) that a pilot will not be asked to undertake any duties, while on standby. Otherwise all standby should be taken at home or at a local motel. That is, standby is standby, not an excuse to get a pilot to undertake admin duties or clean the flaming helo.
4. No night winching. From my experience, a "black hole" approach always seems to precede a night winch.
5. All night EMS aircraft to be either single or two pilot IFR certified and crewed by one or two suitably IFR qualified (and current) IFR pilots.
6. No use of NVG's. If you had the vision that NVG's afforded you, you would be classed as legally blind and be receiving a government pension. Do you think the OH&S people would allow an Ambulance officer to drive an ambulance around using these NVG's?
My wish list for night SAR ops is: same as night EMS
Some people may maintain that night over water SAR ops can be undertaken with A/C fitted with 4 axis autopilots and appropriate autohover SAR packages. Not even QES can maintain their system and keep their people current on their SAR package equipped 412. If by some miracle unlimiter budgets become available, let's revisit this one.
The way the SAR/EMS industry is in Australia at the moment, I think I'll leave it to the young blokes who still think they're 10 foot tall and indestructible :-)
Good luck.