WADDEN SEA HELICOPTER
ANWB MAA currently operates six EC135/H135 helicopters as well as two Airbus H145 helicopters. The H145s were acquired in 2016 after the Royal Netherlands Air Force retired its three Bell
412SP helicopters in January
2015. These helicopters had performed search and rescue (SAR) missions from Leeuwarden Air Base with 303 Squadron. This special SAR squadron, active since 1977 from Leeuwarden and previously flying the Sud Aviation Alouette III, primarily rescued downed military pilots around the Wadden Islands’ shooting ranges. Over time, patient transport from the Wadden Islands to the mainland became
an increasingly important
secondary task. When the Ministry of Defense announced in 2014 it would disband the squadron, patient transport services to and from the Wadden Islands were at risk. Defense guaranteed the transitional period until a civilian party could be contracted through a
public tender to take over the transport for the Regional Ambulance Service Friesland (RAV Fryslân). The ANWB MAA eventually won the tender, partly because its offer of the Airbus H145 was both economically and practically more suitable for the task. The Airbus H145 is significantly larger than the EC135/H135, providing space next to the pilot for one patient, one nurse, and two extra people such as a doctor, family member, or instructor. The ANWB H145s also feature a Helionix avionics suite, a dual-duplex four-axis autopilot, and a Bucher medical interior.
With the call sign Medic 01, the ANWB MAA’s H145s have been based at Leeuwarden Air Base since November 2016 and staffed by seven pilots, 10 HCMs, and 13 nurses from RAV Fryslân. “Flying the ambulance helicopter in the Wadden region involves many challenges,” explains Michael Zwollo, former Royal Netherlands Navy pilot and now chief pilot of Medic 01 and coordinator of flight
operations at Leeuwarden Air Base. “Obviously, the weather — storms, snow, fog, high summer heat — but also a wide variety of patients, from broken bones to resuscitations. Finding suitable landing spots is also challenging; beaches, dunes, campsites, and bike paths are almost daily landing zones. This is only possible if the weather at the landing site is good. We are the only ANWB MAA base authorized to fly on instruments through clouds. The Wadden region has unique weather phenomena that can differ greatly from the mainland. It can be beautiful weather on the Wadden, but bad on the mainland and vice versa. When visibility over water is poor, the gray sky and gray sea blend together, making it hard to distinguish up from down, which can cause disorientation. We then rely heavily on our instruments to confirm we are flying correctly. We are well trained for this. When it’s windy in the Netherlands, it is usually even windier in the Wadden, making takeoffs and landings more challenging.”
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