Commitment to safety and outstanding patient care.
Always ready to respond when it matters most.
Our patient advocates are standing by.
As the largest air medical emergency transport service in the country operating under a unified FAA Part 135 Certificate, we encourage safety improvements within the air medical community. The amount of resources and time we put toward safety practices, protocols, and research is unmatched in the air medical industry.
Air Methods will never stop working on ways to fly and transport patients and crews more safely. Everyone at Air Methods is responsible for ensuring the highest level of safety – before, during, and after the flight.
At the heart of Air Methods’ safety strategy is a strong desire to establish a collaborative and data-driven approach to manage risk across the entire operation. This begins by establishing policies that support the management of risk, promote safety programs, and continuously improve program quality. Air Methods’ Safety Department is dedicated to ensuring all safety protocols and programs are effective.
Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) includes a voluntary audit every three years to establish we meet and exceed industry-wide standards. These standards address not only the quality of patient care, education of medical personnel, and medical equipment, but also operational and safety concerns. Achieving CAMTS accreditation is a mark of excellence for a critical care transport program. The Air Methods standard is for all CBS programs to earn CAMTS after one year of service.
Air Methods has the largest civilian fleet of helicopters, fully-equipped with night vision goggles (NVGs), XM satellite weather and tracking systems, GPS, and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (HTAWS). Air Methods has invested approximately $15 million towards equipping aircraft with Federal Aviation Administration-certified crash-resistant fuel system (“CRFS”).
Air Methods’ Operational Control Center (OCC) monitors every flight operation. During peak hours, this can include 120 active flights at a time. The OCC is available to pilots 24/7 as an aviation resource and a direct link to connect pilots with any member of the Air Methods management team. We always maintain operational control of our fleet at all times and support our pilots before and during the flight.
Operational Control Specialists work with pilots to ensure operational risks are properly recognized and mitigated to acceptable levels prior to any HAA flight beginning. The OCC performs around 14,500 preflight risk analysis during an average month.
Our 360-degree flight monitoring also tracks duty times, flight releases, and flight data. In 2021, Air Methods safely completed over 440,000 take-offs and landings.
AirCom is the hub for transport coordination and the largest communication center in the U.S.
Safety metrics are reviewed to monitor event trends, completion of action items, and measure safety culture engagement. Air Methods also utilizes several reporting tools to review flight information and develop future improvements in safety.
Participate in 75-100 monthly case reviews to: