1-800-321-1911
250 North 2370 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116Map

Life Flight

History

Life Flight began rotor wing service in July 1978, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The service was based out of LDS Hospital and consisted of one Alouette helicopter under contract from Rocky Mountain Helicopters (RMH), six nurses, 10 paramedics and two pilots.

The first flight took place on July 6, 1978. The flight team flew to Roosevelt, Utah, 125 miles east of Salt Lake City, to pick up a patient who had been stabilized at the Duchesne County Hospital before being flown to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. After a few days there, he was released and went home with a model helicopter that commemorated the first flight of Intermountain Healthcare's air ambulance service.

In 1978 Life Flight was the seventh air medical helicopter service in the United States. By 2003 there were over 545 rotor-wing medical helicopters based at over 470 bases across the United.

In April 1979 the Life Flight pediatric team began service with eight flight nurse's specializing in care and transportation of pediatric patients from regional hospitals. In 1981 a second Alouette helicopter was placed in service and based at Primary Children's Medical Center staffed with a flight team of consisting of a pilot, pediatric nurse and an adult nurse.

In 1990, the University of Utah transferred their neonatal special care unit to Primary Children's Medical Center, during that same year the team was designated as a special care transport team for Life Flight.

While Life Flight began rotor wing flights in 1978, fixed wing operations had been in service since 1972 through Barkin-FBO based at the Salt Lake International Airport, using a Cheyenne II and two Mistsubishi MU 2 twin-engine aircraft. In 1981 Rocky Mountain Helicopters became the primary service provider of fixed wing services for Life Flight with a Conquest and a Cheyenne II.

In 1993 Life Flight made the decision to purchase two Agusta 109 K2 helicopters. Replacing the older Alouette helicopters with aircraft that could perform at high altitude was a critical factor in the decision making process. In addition, the K2 was well suited for hoist operations and was being considering in future planning.

In 1998 Life Flight purchased three King Air B-200 twin-engine aircraft and in the same year Life Flight became the first air medical transport service to be CAMTS accredited in the State of Utah.

In 2001 after a long and lengthy certification process, Life Flight became the first civilian FAR 135 hoist operator in the United States. Hoist operations commenced in the spring of 2001 with the first hoist rescue mission taking place in a steep canyon east of Bountiful, Utah. The hoist team has conducted rescue missions to the North in Idaho and Wyoming and Arches National Park in southern Utah.

In 2002 Intermountain Healthcare and Life Flight were selected to provide health care and air medical services during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

October 2003 Intermountain Life Flight added two Bell 407 helicopters to its fleet of Agusta A109 k2 helicopters. Though the Bell 407 is generally utilized for shorter flights and inter-hospital transports along the Wasatch Front, they can carry relatively large payloads over long distances at speeds close to 150 mph.

In March 2004 Life Flight moved into a new Operations Center at the Salt Lake City International Airport. The center provided administrative offices, training facilities, hanger, and maintenance spaces for two King Air and three helicopters, day rooms, kitchen's, a flight planning center, sleep rooms for crews and the Life Flight Communication Center. In early 2006 the new Intermountain Healthcare Physician's Referral Center, based at the Life Flight hanger became operational.

August 2004 Intermountain Life Flight was approved to fly all rotor wing aircraft with NVG's (Night Vision Goggles), which allow the pilot and medical crew the ability to see at night nearly as well as they do during the day. All rotor wing pilots and medical crewmembers are provided with state of the art NVG equipment and receive extensive training under all possible flight conditions. In addition to basic training a comprehensive annual training program was developed for all crew members to maintain proficiency with NVG equipment. NVG's have provided a significant safety and operational advancement to the Life Flight program.

March 2007 Intermountain Life Flight opened the new Flight Control Center. Flight Controllers working along side Communication Specialists manage air operations for both fixed and rotor wing pilots. The Controllers are the "heart and soul" of this innovative center, providing dedicated assistance to our pilots including TIER briefings, currency checking and verification, weather monitoring and alerts, flight following and dissemination of Notices to Airman.

January 2008 Rotor wing flight teams completed training with the new Avalanche Probe, utilized by helicopter to locate victims trapped by avalanche. Life Flight began the project in late 2006, after FAA approval of an anchoring system, probes were purchased and flight crews completed training and became operational in January 2008. The probe consists of a specially designed antenna and receiver combination carried on board the helicopter, which when deployed about 15 feet below the aircraft can detect and identify beacons on appropriately equipped avalanche victims. This program works in conjunction with local ski patrols and Wilderness Rescue Organizations allowing the victim to be located by air and rescued by ground teams.

February 2008 All Life Flight aircraft equipped with satellite tracking systems (Sky Connect). The system closely monitors fixed and rotor wing aircraft, relaying GPS coordinates to Operational Control and allows for tracking and monitoring flight paths on a large plasma screen monitor in the communication center. The system also provides the ability to text message the flight crew while in the air.

July 5, 2008 This marks the 30th Anniversary of Life Flight! For 30 years we have been providing rotor wing service to the Intermountain West, this significant event will be celebrated throughout 2008. This remarkable achievement is a direct result of the support and dedication of not only the medical community but EMS Providers, law enforcement, Fire and other Public Safety professionals in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and Arizona. We thank and appreciate our friends, partners and peers who have allowed us to care for their patients these past 30 years!