After a Norwegian fighter pilot earned our Doofus Of The Day award yesterday, reader S. K. (himself a former USAF F-16 pilot) e-mailed me with the link to this article.
Quick-thinking medical staff in Norway saved a patient's life by calling in an F-16 fighter jet to whisk life saving medical equipment from one hospital to another, media reports said on Friday.
. . .
Staff [in Trondheim] contacted the air force on April 4th for help in transporting the equipment - a request that came in just as two F-16 fighter jets were getting ready to take off from an airbase near Trondheim, the reports said.
. . .
In a stroke of good luck, one of the fighter jets was equipped with an external hold that allowed it to transport equipment. The machine was loaded onto the aircraft, which made for Bodo at top speed.
"Usually we cover that distance in 35 minutes," air squadron head Borge Kleppe told Norwegian daily Verdens Gang.
"But given the special nature of the cargo, the pilot stepped on it and arrived at the destination less than 25 minutes later," he added.
There's more at the link.
S. K. said in his e-mail:
"Figured I'd help 'pile on' the Norwegians. They are some of the best F16 pilots I have had the pleasure of training."
That was some very fast flying, and the patient's life was saved. Kudos to the pilots concerned.
Peter
Here in the U.S., most likely all hospitals would have that equipment.
ReplyDeleteI can't find any info on the availability of ECMO equipment; anyone know how common it is?
ReplyDeleteI was watching a Norwegian helicopter approach our ship one day when the weather was sort of marginal. I assume the pilot was ex-military, as most oilfield helicopter pilots are.
ReplyDeleteHe came alongside our helideck about 20 meters off to one side, matched speeds and watched the motion of our ship for a minute to get a sense of it, and then moved over and set it down like he owned the place.
Amen to that! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Norwegian F-16 drivers were always friendly when they visited my AF base in west-central Germany. And they would often bring some smoked salmon with them as an incentive for better care of their birds. Not that it was necessary, but much appreciated.
ReplyDelete