Canada has seen a dramatic drop in the number of helicopter pilots it licenses over the last 10 years. That’s making it more difficult for air ambulance services to recruit and retain qualified pilots to transport critically ill patients.
But he also said there are other reasons, including the cost of training, which can be about $100,000.
Cade Clark, vice-president of government affairs for Helicopter Association International, said members of the Virginia-based organization are looking at how to educate high school students about the industry. "When we're not available, the public suffers — and that's a pretty black-and-white issue," Clark said.- Cade Clark, Helicopter Association International
"Unfortunately, we may be in a situation where we have to ration the availability of ambulance pilots to, in fact, kind of temper the growth that the provincial governments want to see in air ambulance services," he said.Helicopter pilot Ryan Shrives, who has 24 years of experience under his belt, has flown with HALO Air Ambulance in Medicine Hat, Alta., for about three and a half years. He's previously flown for the South African Air Force and the United Nations.
Paul Carolan, the chief executive of HALO, said the helicopter service lost seven pilots in the last couple of years: four to other air ambulance operators and three who left the industry."If the call comes in right now, we have to be prepared to go. So having those people on-site and ready is always a factor, and it's a fundamental part of who we are," Carolan said. "So it's not that it's harder, but it certainly makes things a bit more complicated.