Powerful towards the new AW101 SAR Queen rescue helicopter – NRK

They have cost more than 14 billion and should be able to fly “faster, higher and longer than before.” But all is not as it should be when the new AW101 “SAR Queen” rescue helicopter enters the Norwegian helicopter contingency.

This week, NRK

reveal that the new “SAR Queen” rescue helicopter can only land in six of the 21 Norwegian emergency hospitals like today’s Sea King helicopters

Land at.

The queen weighs four tons more than the king today. Then more air is needed under the rotor to maintain it.

Due to the more prevailing rotor winds, the so-called downwash, several hospitals risk helicopters having to land at airports several kilometers away.

– It’s a national challenge, Health Central Norway CEO Stig Slørdahl told NRK on Wednesday.

The list of where new rescue helicopters cannot land is longer than the list of where they can actually land.

The Labor Party’s leading MP, Bjørnar Skjæran, thinks this is “completely surreal.”

– This is an announced crisis. We have reports since 2013 saying that steps should be taken to facilitate the new helicopters, Skjæran told NRK.

Requires government cleanup

The Labor politician is aware that it is good news that the new helicopters are finally in place.

– But we must be very careful to call this the back of the medal if we get there that they cannot land in hospitals, so we have to solve it.

Between Molde and Vardø, there is only one hospital that you can land in as seen today. It’s catastrophic, Skjæran believes.

– This simply needs to be cleaned. From the Labor Party, we have asked question after question. We have challenged the Minister of Health on that, and today we present questions to the Minister of Justice where we challenge on what is emergency preparedness.

– This contrasts horribly with what the conservatives went to the polls in 2013. So they should strengthen the preparation and so now we are in this situation.

– What do you think should be done?

– Now the government must implement as soon as possible a plan of how we will get out of the crisis in which we are now. It must be that so that the general provision for search and rescue can land in all the emergency hospitals in the country. This should have been in place a long time ago.

Reject criticism

Secretary of State Lars Jacob Hiim (H), from the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, refers to the comments he made yesterday to NRK:

Here he said, among other things, that they will find continuous solutions on how the helicopters will land as they are phased in.

He also affirms that they are in the process of a survey together with the health authorities.

To Skjæran’s criticism, Hiim says:

– The statement is not true. According to Helse Nord, SAR Queen can now land at many of its hospitals, usually at the airport or a nearby helicopter base. This applies, for example, to the hospitals in Kirkenes, Hammerfest, Tromsø, Harstad, Vesterålen and Lofoten.

“Even with today’s Sea King helicopters, it is common practice to land at airports or other places near hospitals,” Huum says.