Air Evac- 14 November

This past Wednesday, while having some meetings with government ministries, a call came in requesting us to assist with a medical evacuation.  Around 4pm, I was able to launch to the town where a horrible car accident had happened between a van carrying a load of school children and an SUV.  One child had died at the scene.

On our way to the coastal town of Port Gentil.

The four children that I would transport had bad wounds, mainly to their heads.  They were in stable condition and had no need for oxygen or other in-flight care- they simply needed transported from the town (only reached by boat or airplane), 45 minutes back to the capital city where they could get to the doctors and machines that could care for them.  Although our aircraft is mainly working to support the work of the Bongolo Hospital, we still use the aircraft to bless people, no matter where their destination needs to be.  The doctor providing the care for them determined that Libreville was the best for these children, so that's where we headed.  Additionally, for the time being, our aircraft is not outfitted for in-flight care (ambulance), so we must ensure that each patient is stable and able to be transported safely with no chance that they will need special care during the flight.

Quite a crowd gathered.

Once it was determined how many children would be coming we changed the interior set up.  This required me to take out 4 chairs and stow them in the far back, held down by a cargo net.  A doctor and nurse were along for the ride, as well as the 4 children. 

It was about 45 minutes for the leg there and back, hugging the coast as we went.  You'll notice that no roads go to the destination.

As we arrived back to Libreville at dusk, the ambulances were waiting and some ground crew workers were waiting to assist.