Aero-medical evacuation of patient from Lord Howe Island

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is providing Aero-Medical Evacuation (AME) transport for an injured elderly male from Lord Howe Island to Sydney.

The assistance follows a request from the NSW State Emergency Operations Centre on February 21, as poor weather in Lord Howe Island prevented efforts to safely dispatch a civilian aero-medical transport aircraft.

An Air Force C-130J Hercules transport aircraft departed RAAF Base Richmond at 12.30pm, carrying an Air Force AME Team.

The C-130J Hercules arrived at Lord Howe Island at 2pm today and the Air Force AME team is preparing the patient for air transfer.

The patient is an elderly male who has experienced a serious injury and requires urgent treatment at a Sydney-area hospital.

Once they arrive at Lord Howe Island airport, the Air Force AME Team will liaise with local health agencies to stabilise the patient so that he can be flown to Sydney on board the Hercules.

The C-130J Hercules and Air Force AME team are due to return in the early evening to Sydney, with the patient being transferred by Ambulance to a Sydney-area hospital.

The C-130J Hercules is operated by No. 37 Squadron at RAAF Base Richmond, and is carrying a RAAF AME team from No. 3 Aero-Medical Evacuation Squadron, also based at Richmond.

Media Note: A file image of the C-130J Hercules at Lord Howe Island is available from http://ra.af/YaqvSG. A larger file imagery of a C-130J Hercules is available from http://ra.af/XyAEYj.

Privacy provisions prevent Defence from releasing any further details of the patient’s injuries.

Media Contact:
Defence Media Operations             02 6127 1999 mediaops [at] defence.gov.au ()
NSW Ambulance, Adam Wallace      02 9320 7796  media [at] ambulance.nsw.gov.au