Medevac Flights

bc2209

bc2209

Well-Known Member
Do Medevac, both helicopters and fixed wing, have priority over all other airplanes?

And more specifically do they have priority at a towered airport and non towered airport?

I ran into this today at a non towered airport and didn't immediately catch onto it until the pilot basically "voiced" himself in which I let him go first in the pattern.

Granted I'm pretty green and was caught off guard. I just want to make sure I'm not missing something.

Through training and everything this topic has never come up.
 
An Open Skies aircraft has priority over all “regular” air traffic. “Regular” is defined as all aircraft traffic other
than:

1. Emergencies.
2. Aircraft directly involved in presidential movement.
3 .Forces or activities in actual combat.
4. MEDEVAC and active SAR missions.
5. AIR EVAC and HOSP aircraft that have requested priority handling
 
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What @A Life Aloft wrote is true, but I'm not sure it answers your question.

Medevac aircraft are afforded priority by air traffic control when sequencing and vectoring IFR flights. There is no part 91 regulation or AIM indication that I'm aware of that says you have to let them go first in the traffic pattern at an uncontrolled airport, although it would of course be a courtesy that most aviators would probably agree to.
 
I may be speaking out of term here....But I remember something about the the call signs.

for example...a company I used to work for said that they had priority when a patient was onboard. So when they had a patient the call sign was "Lifeguard 123" and when they did not have a patient it was "123 AB". Thus, the call sign let everyone know they had priority and were operating with a medical patient onboard.
 
"Lifeguard" had now been changed to "Medevac" as part of an agreement with ICAO standards of communication. If they have a patient on board they will use this call sign and SHOULD be given priority if able at uncontrolled airports. But as @Bernoulli Fan stated, there is no requirement to do so. In controlled airspace, ATC will provide priority handling as much as feasible.

I, personally, don't know why you wouldn't give them priority unless you are experiencing an emergency at the time. View it like this: if your loved one was on board, would you want the other pilot to get out of the way? Remember this when driving in the proximity of an active ambulance, fire truck, or LE vehicle as well.
 
We generally use the Medevac call-sign when we have a patient aboard and then the normal call-sign when we are repositioning back to base.

"Medevac Native 642" vs "Native 642" for my particular aircraft.
 
Yeah just a new experience for me. After we got back I thought about it some more and I should have picked up on it quicker. Good reference for the future. We're on a training flight it takes zero effort for me to get out of the way and let them land first.
 
Boskru said:
I flew Air Ambo for a while and then moved onto a corporate jet gig. There are definitely times that I miss the priority handling from ATC. *Just after takeoff-"Medevac 149CF, clear direct destination....."
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No joke. I went through recurrent and confessed I'm weak on SIDs/STARs because we never use them.
 
deadstick said:
No joke. I went through recurrent and confessed I'm weak on SIDs/STARs because we never use them.
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Yeah, I remember flying in to SDF one night during the UPS push and desperately trying to figure out how to pull a STAR up from the Garmin. I think I eventually just manually entered it.

This was like 2 years in to the gig...
 
Priority handling is great. My favorite is when they clear active MOAs and restricted air spaces for you so that you can stay on your direct routing.

Priority handling should be given to medivac aircraft but I do not think it is required and is at the discretion of the controllers of each particular airport. Example TEB. Up there, rich people seem to always take priority over sick people.

Also I don't think you have to have to have a patient on board to file medivac. I believe you can file it if you are on your way to an emergency patient pickup.
 
Brandon1234 said:
Priority handling should be given to medivac aircraft but I do not think it is required and is at the discretion of the controllers of each particular airport.
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It absolutely is required. However, being given priority handling does not always direct translate into directly routing and/or being #1 in the sequence.

7110.65V
2−1−4. OPERATIONAL PRIORITY
Provide air traffic control service to aircraft on a “first
come, first served” basis as circumstances permit,
except the following:

b. Provide priority to civilian air ambulance
flights (call sign “MEDEVAC”). Use of the
MEDEVAC call sign indicates that operational
priority is requested. When verbally requested,
provide priority to AIR EVAC, HOSP, and scheduled
air carrier/air taxi flights. Assist the pilots of
MEDEVAC, AIR EVAC, and HOSP aircraft to avoid
areas of significant weather and turbulent conditions.
When requested by a pilot, provide notifications to
expedite ground handling of patients, vital organs, or
urgently needed medical materials.

NOTE−
It is recognized that heavy traffic flow may affect the
controller’s ability to provide priority handling. However,
without compromising safety, good judgment must be used
in each situation to facilitate the most expeditious
movement of a MEDEVAC aircraft.
Click to expand...

So you can see, as clarified by the Note, that priority handling is not optional. However, circumstances may preclude us from expediting MEDEVAC movement as much as we would if those circumstances didn't exist.
 
FM_Weasel said:
It absolutely is required. However, being given priority handling does not always direct translate into directly routing and/or being #1 in the sequence.

So you can see, as clarified by the Note, that priority handling is not optional. However, circumstances may preclude us from expediting MEDEVAC movement as much as we would if those circumstances didn't exist.
Click to expand...

Even being a declared emergency, some pilots have this idea that all airspace will immediately be cleared instantly. Whereas its moreso that ATC will be doing their best to get you what you need, where you need, as quickly as possibly, consistent with workable circumstances. Sometimes, it's not always possible, but ATC does make the effort.
 
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