At Airborne Solutions, we're fortunate to work with exceptional pilots like Noémie, who epitomizes commitment and passion for aviation. In addition to her role as Médevac pilot, where she carries out vital missions such as medical evacuations, Noémie also flies for Airborne Solutions, contributing to our flight operations with the same professionalism and rigor.
Her unique experience, combining emergency missions and commercial aviation, reflects Airborne Solutions' core values: excellence, dedication and adaptability in the face of challenges. Working with pilots like Noémie is a source of inspiration and drives us to maintain the highest standards in our services.
Through this blog, discover a Médevac mission told by Noémie, an immersion in the daily life of a passionate and dedicated pilot. Her story illustrates not only the beauty and challenges of the job, but also the synergy between her Médevac activities and her missions at Airborne Solutions.
Enjoy your reading, and let Noémie and Airborne Solutions take you up in the air!
"Hello everyone,
My name is Noémie and I'm a pilot in Canada. I fly a King Air 100 and perform medical evacuation missions (Médevac).
Today, I'm going to try to take you with me on a mission.
Médevac drivers are always on call. We have time slots during which we have to be available. Today, I'm on call from 4:30 am to 6:30 pm.
The phone rings around 10 am. I'm going on a mission to northern Quebec to evacuate a pregnant mother who's about to give birth. Once I receive the mission call, I have one hour to take off.
From that moment on, everything accelerates. I get changed quickly, collect my things and head for the airport.
On site, I check the weather, prepare my flight plan, calculate weights and balance, then head for the aircraft.
The plane is equipped with two stretchers, one behind the other, and the cargo hold is filled with medication for the patients. We always travel with a nurse who looks after the patient throughout the flight.
As our patient today is pregnant, and the risk of in-flight delivery is high, we also carry an incubator to care for the baby in the event of in-flight delivery.
After a quick briefing with my co-pilot and the nurse, we take off for Chisasibi.
One hour and thirty minutes later, we arrived at our destination. The flight went well, the weather was fine and the runway well cleared of snow. The nurse leaves for the hospital to pick up the patient and her mother, who is accompanying her on this flight to Val-d'Or.
As a general rule, pilots are not aware of patients' medical conditions. This information should not influence our in-flight decisions. However, sometimes, like today, it's difficult for the nurses to hide from us the fact that a patient is pregnant. Finally, the nurse returns with the patient and her mother. We pick them up and head back to Val-d'Or.
As I mentioned earlier, flying conditions are optimal today. The skies are clear and we have no cabin restrictions. Depending on the case, the nurses may ask us to maintain a low cabin altitude for patient comfort. This sometimes requires us to fly quite low, which can be problematic in winter due to icing.
An hour and thirty minutes later, we landed in Val-d'Or. The patient had many contractions during the flight, but managed to keep her baby warm all the way to the hospital.
He was born an hour after the patient's arrival at the maternity hospital.
Did I forget to mention that it was December 25? This baby was born healthy and without complications. I love my job so much. Being a pilot is incredible. We have the most beautiful office in the world. The conditions during Médevac missions are not always easy.
The nights are often very long, but they are always rewarded by the fact that our small contribution often saves lives.
Noémie
