recipients exemplify what these awards are all about.”
The Mark of Excellence Award
recognizes a unit or company that signifi es dedication to quality and excellence in their operation. Air Methods Corporation is the global leader in air medical transportation. The Air Medical Services Division is the largest provider of air medical transport services in the United States. Air Methods’ fl eet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features over 450 helicopters and fi xed-wing aircraft. In August 2013, Air Methods announced its then fl eet of 368 air medical helicopters became fully outfi tted with night vision goggle (NVG) capability. With this milestone, Air Methods’ fl eet is now the largest civilian helicopter fl eet in the world to be fully outfi tted with NVG technology.
“Air Methods is extremely proud to
have met this key safety objective,” said Aaron Todd, chief executive offi cer of Air Methods. “With the largest air medical fl eet in the industry, we anticipated 100 percent NVG compliance was going to take time to complete. The team remained diligent in the eff ort because we believe NVGs, coupled with our standard suite of advanced cockpit technologies, keep our crews and patients safe during night operations and further enhance the safety of our operations.”
Air Methods Regional Aviation Director James Wisecup received the award on behalf of Air Methods. He was involved with the fi rst civil aviation operation to use night vision goggles for EMS in the United States.
For his contributions to the advancement of night vision in aviation, Kevin Means received the NIGHTCON Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chuck Crompton,
of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (ECS Division) in Franklin, Wisconsin, nominated Means for the industry award. “Every good sales manager who works with new helicopter technologies knows the importance of getting to know the
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innovators, and back in 1992 there were a few of these types scattered throughout the police fl ight departments on the West Coast,” said Crompton. “One in particular was a skinny kid with dark hair that fl ew Bell-206 helicopters with the San Diego Police Department.
These innovators were the people that campaigned for the new equipment, including NVG and FLIR. They were the generation that “wrote the book” on night tactics and the complementary
capabilities between NVGs, FLIR, and searchlights. In Kevin Means situation, he literally wrote the book, and every new kid that aspires to chase bad guys with helicopters will eventually pick up a copy of Tactical Helicopter Missions, How to Fly Safe and Eff ective Airborne Law Enforcement Missions. Kevin has always looked for better ways to do things, and his commitment to safety has never waivered.”
Means fl ew with the San Diego Police Department for 24 years and retired in
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