Virgin Atlantic Pilot Story
A Virgin First Officer gives unparalleled insights into what life’s like operating as a pilot for one of the worlds most infamous airlines.
Pilot Bible
August 14, 2024
Share Post With Friends
Air ambulance helicopter pilot Pilot Chris Jestice has been kind enough to give us an insight into his exciting daily life saving lives across Essex, UK. It’s an absolute privilege to get behind the scenes access like this, so thank you for sharing Chris!
Gama Aviation, Senior First Officer, Earls Colne, Essex, United Kingdom
I fly HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) missions using the AW169 helicopter for Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Charity, transporting a Pre-Hospital Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic to attend to the most critically ill and severely injured patients in our region.
I work a 12-hour shift starting at 07:00, following a 4 days on/4 days off rotation. As I live near the airbase, my commute is a brief 25-minute drive. After securing my gear in the aircraft, I meet with the aircraft Captain to review in detail the day’s weather, Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), payload information, and any aircraft issues in preparation for the morning briefing.
Our medical team for the day, consisting of a Pre-Hospital Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic, arrives an hour before us to begin their shift on the Rapid Response Vehicle until the aircraft is operational at 07:30. During this time, they check their medical equipment, sign out the blood box containing blood and plasma, and secure their controlled drugs. They then equip the aircraft with all the necessary medical supplies for the day.
Once we have confirmed that everything has been thoroughly checked and loaded onto the aircraft, we tow the aircraft out of the hangar to the helipad. We then all come together as a crew for the morning briefing, which is an important part of our shift.
The morning briefing addresses key topics such as fitness to fly, weather conditions, aircraft performance, and other pertinent information related to the shift. Thursdays are designated as aviation emergency day, providing us with the opportunity to discuss various emergencies with the medical crew, including scenarios like engine fires and loss of communication. After completing the briefing, we check in with the dispatch desk and are ready for any tasking. From this point, it becomes a waiting game; no two days are the same, and the level of how busy we will be is unpredictable.
When a job comes in, the dispatch desk contact’s us directly in our operations room, triggering the bell that echoes throughout the hangar. The pilots will take turns answering the call, recording the grid reference and a brief description of the job. We then use our iPad, equipped with mapping software, to plot the grid, providing the job’s location, a heading, and an estimated flight time. While one pilot gathers the details, the other goes out to the aircraft to start the pre-flight checks. The remaining pilot and crew then proceed to the aircraft and secure themselves ready for departure.
The AW169 helicopter is a great aircraft to fly, offering a high cruise speed, impressive range, and performance, which are ideal for operating in the HEMS environment. From the initial phone call, we are hover taxiing for departure in approximately four minutes. Once airborne, we can reach any location in the county within 10 to 15 minutes. The helicopter’s speed and ability to land close to the patient significantly enhance the level of patient care the team can provide.
In addition to the aircraft’s speed, we operate under a HELIMED call sign, specifically for our aircraft HELIMED07, which distinguishes us from other aircraft. When the dispatch desk assigns us a job, we add “Alpha” to the end of our call sign (HELIMED07 Alpha). This designation gives us a higher priority over other aircraft both in the air and on the ground, saving vital minutes when flying directly to the patient. It also provides greater access when our route takes us through controlled airspace, especially around busy international airports such as Stansted / Luton and the London CTR. As soon as we advise ATC, we are on an Alpha call, they make every effort to expedite our passage through their busy airspace as quickly and safely as possible, often with minimal notice of our intentions.
As soon as we are overhead the scene, we work to identify a suitable landing site. The nature of UK HEMS operations often requires landing at unprepared sites, so we conduct an overhead recce to identify hazards such as wires, people, street lighting, and uneven terrain. This assessment is performed quickly and dynamically while we are overhead.
Once we have landed, the crew disembarks with their medical equipment, and if we have landed nearby, it should be a short walk to the patient. As the flight crew, we usually remain with the aircraft to manage the public and engage with them. Our landings and the noise generated often draw significant attention. Depending on our proximity to the scene, we may also assist the medical crew by carrying and passing equipment.
The next update comes from the medical crew, outlining their plan. Based on what is best for the patient, they will decide on the appropriate hospital. They may choose to transport the patient by air using the helicopter or by road ambulance, depending on the specific situation. Once the patient has been handed over to the doctors and nurses at the hospital, we will fly back to the base to prepare for the next task. We can be assigned a new task while returning to base, so as pilots, we continually assess the weather and fuel state in case a new mission arises. If we return to base without another call, we quickly refuel the aircraft and grab something to eat and drink in preparation for the next potential dispatch.
There have been several memorable days on the job that I can recall, but one that stands out purely from a pilot perspective was a trip to Deal in Kent which came through towards theend of our 12hr shift. This area is usually covered by another air ambulance charity (Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance), however on this occasion all their aircraft were committed on other jobs and our aircraft was the closest available asset.
The transit time from our base to scene was around 25mins which for those asking for our help can feel like a lifetime waiting. Once we had landed at the scene it became clear very quickly the medical crew wanted to transport the patient by air to St. Georges Hospital in London which was the closest available MTC (Major Trauma Centre). Whilst the medical team were stabilising and packaging the patient ready for them to be flown, Captain and I started looking at our available fuel and performance figures along with calculating our duty time.
As mentioned previously we operate a 12hr shift pattern but can extend into a 13th hour for discretion purposes only to allow us to get the aircraft back to base. Looking at the flight time to the hospital along with the return trip to our home base we were going to be tight for fuel and duty hours. We worked out that we would be below our final reserve fuel for the flight back to base so would have to stop at our sister base at North Weald for a refuel before carrying onto our home base. The next issue we faced was our duty hours, due to the late medical tasking we were pushed for time every step of the way.
Unfortunately for the medical crew in this situation we had to make them aware that once we arrived at the hospital, we wouldn’t be able to wait around for them to return to us. This does happen from time to time when we run out of duty hours, once the crew have handed over the patient, they arrange a taxi to drive them back to base, something we try to avoid if possible as nobody wants to be doing a 12hr shift, be late off and then have to get a taxi back to base! Soon as we had safely delivered the patient and crew, we departed for North Weald with a plan of doing a rotors running refuel to save time. However, during the transit every calculation we ran showed us arriving back at our home base 10 minutes later than our discretion allowed even with a quick refuel! Having looked at the time, we made the decision to night stop at North Weald where we had a safe and secure hangar to park the aircraft in.
This job has stood out from others due to how many moving parts we had to consider and the reliance on really good teamwork and CRM from both us as pilots and the medical crew to allow everyone to deliver the critical care the patient needed. It was a real fine balance trying to assist the medical crew with moving towards the goal of flying to the hospital but also not trying to add any undue pressure due to our own time constraints.
The great news from this job was the patient made a full recovery and the medical crew didn’t have to wait too long for a taxi!
It can be frustrating when bad weather prevents us from flying, especially when jobs come in that you know the helicopter could have made a significant difference in aiding the patient.
When you know someone needs the help of the medical crew and you’re able to use the helicopter as it was intended to, landing in confined areas close enough to the patient that the crew can be on scene in minutes.
It’s also a great day when we have a patient who we have helped come back to visit us after their recovery. It’s great to chat with them and in some cases help fill in parts of that day they may not remember.
Mental health is a big topic within HEMS. The jobs we’re exposed to can have a lasting impact, so open talking about what we have seen is crucial for everyone to decompress and process their experiences. It’s common for crews to gather around the kitchen table after a job to talk things through over a cup of tea. Both the company I work for and the charity I am assigned with have mental health support groups in place to assist anyone who may need support.
Do we get any medical training is a common question and/or do we get involved with helping at scene. We get given basic first aid training, but the medical crew will conduct various medical scenarios during the shift to practice their skills. We do get involved with these scenarios and you do pick up on things that aren’t given in your basic first aid courses.
As pilots our primary role is to look after the aircraft and be ready to react to whatever the medical crew have planned but they do appreciate us coming to scene as a 2nd pair of eyes and to hand them equipment. We can be asked to perform CPR or prepare medical equipment where appropriate to do so. Being around the crew you do get to know their kit as well which other emergency services may not be as familiar with.
Flying hours in HEMS can vary drastically, we roughly average around 160-200hrs year. The average sector time from our base to incidents is around 10 minutes so over the course of a 12 hour shift you could log anything from 30 minutes to 2:30hr of flight time.
We’re very grateful to Chris for taking the time to answer our questions, & for his transparency about his work & life. Thank you Chris and we’re looking forward to hearing how your next few years as an HEMS helicopter pilot pan out!
If you have any questions for Chris, please drop them in the comments below!
This series aims to bring you insights into the daily life of pilots around the world in varying industries to hopefully expand your knowledge and enable you to make more suitable career decisions. If you like it, please comment!
A Virgin First Officer gives unparalleled insights into what life’s like operating as a pilot for one of the worlds most infamous airlines.
An easyJet captain gives unparalleled insights into what life’s like operating in the commanders seat at one of Europes largest airlines
Copyright © 2024 Pilot Bible
One Response
Your blog has become an indispensable resource for me. I’m always excited to see what new insights you have to offer. Thank you for consistently delivering top-notch content!