Originally Posted by
Same again
The initial call from the IRCG co-ordinator would have been along the lines of "We have a wet job (offshore task) for you. An injured crewman on board a fishing vessel approx 100nm (or whatever) west of Blacksod at co-ordinates (L&L). The injury is to his hand and the ship's Captain is requesting that he be taken to hospital."
It is then up to the SAR crew to obtain as much information as possible regarding position, type of vessel, time the accident occurred, more details of the injury and patient, weather at the scene, etc, etc. Most experienced co-ordinators would already have this information available.
The crew then decide whether or not to accept the task. Unless the vessel is out of range or the weather is such that it would prevent the flight from operating (bearing in mind that there are usually no prescribed minimum weather limits for SAR flights) the task would normally be accepted.
If, however, conditions are marginal, out of range and/or the winchman paramedic feels that the injury is not life-threatening and can wait, then the crew can delay or decline the task.
I have done this on a number of occassions when the combination is poor weather/long range and a non-life threatening injury. However I always make sure that as much information as is available is collected and the whole crew are happy with the decision. It is our bums that are strapped to the seats but equally we have to live with the decision.
Same again
Thanks for the good info! Just curious: What is your recommendation concerning radar usage? I mean tilt; do you have kind of "standard setting" when using GMAP mode?