Trainee 'pilot' gives thumbs up to successful helipad test
3 year old Noah Faull 'pilots' the test flight; an aerial view of the new Karratha Health Campus and helipad; CHC helicopter during the test flight.
It was a milestone day at Karratha Health Campus on Saturday as the first helicopter landing was witnessed.
The CHC ‘air ambulance’ AW189 helicopter did a number of landings and take offs to ensure the 1600m² helipad is safe and ready to receive patients ahead of the official opening.
And getting in on the action was three-year-old ‘pilot’ Noah Faull who was excited to get a close up look at the inside of the helicopter once it had landed at the campus.
WA Country Health Service Pilbara Regional Director Margi Faulkner said the campus had been designed and built to support emergency delivery of retrievals by helicopter.
“Some emergency patients will still need to be flown to Perth depending on their condition, but wherever clinically appropriate for patients to be treated at Karratha Health Campus the helipad at Karratha will be used, avoiding the need for road transport from the airport to the Campus,” said Ms Faulkner.
“I’d like to thank CHC for helping us to carry out these important run-throughs. The noise levels within the hospital were very quiet during the test-run; in fact it went so well that someone within the hospital called to ask if it had taken place!”