Boston MedFlight, a US nonprofit critical care transport provider, has ordered three H145 helicopters from Airbus Helicopters, the planemaker said on Tuesday.

The order brings the total number of H145s the organisation has bought over time to 12. Boston MedFlight, which serves New England in the north-eastern United States, already operates an all-Airbus fleet.

The three twin-engine helicopters will be delivered over the coming years, according to the release. They will replace existing aircraft and allow some fleet growth. They will be used to move critically ill and injured patients between regional healthcare facilities and directly from emergency scenes. They will join the organisation’s existing aviation network and its critical care ground vehicles, supporting round-the-clock emergency medical operations.

Airbus said Boston MedFlight has provided critical care transport for more than 41 years and has carried more than 115,000 patients.

Boston MedFlight CEO Maura Hughes said the aircraft are essential to the mission, allowing pilots to transport patients safely while medical crews focus on care in transit. She said, “the H145 continues to be the right fit for our mission today”, citing its suitability for flying across New England and the cabin space and flexibility to fit medical equipment.

Bart Reijnen, Head of the North America region at Airbus Helicopters, said the five-bladed H145 combines cabin volume, smooth flight characteristics and Helionix safety technology suited to critical care crews working in challenging environments.

Airbus said the latest H145 has a five-bladed bearingless rotor that raises useful load by 150 kg (330 lbs). It is powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines with dual-channel full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and has the Helionix digital avionics suite and a four-axis autopilot. More than 1,800 H145-family helicopters are in service worldwide, with over 8.9 million flight hours across emergency medical, public safety and civil missions, the company said.

Source: PR