2nd H130 Delivered to Hospital Wing

Hospital Wing, a Memphis, Tenn.-based nonprofit air medical transport service, has taken delivery of its second Airbus Helicopters H130, which will augment the service's fleet of seven other Airbus Helicopters aircraft. The H130 acquisition is part of Hospital Wing's strategy to transition its entire fleet to that model helicopter. Hospital Wing also operates three earlier model H130-series helicopters and three AS350 B3 AStars.

"We're transitioning to the H130 because of the large cabin size and the service record," said John Butora, CEO of Hospital Wing. "The H130 is an excellent aircraft. It has fewer maintenance requirements and has an added safety margin, which is important. This helicopter just works for us."

Hospital Wing serves a consortium of Memphis-area hospitals. It operates from five bases in the mid-south, serving 27 hospitals and provides service to residents in a 200 nautical mile circle, including West Tennessee, and parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, and Kentucky. Six of the eight helicopters are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "The Wing" transports an average of 250 patients per month, 35 percent of them trauma related cases.

"All of us at Airbus Helicopters Inc. are honored and grateful that Hospital Wing has again chosen one of our aircraft to add to and modernize their fleet," said Treg Manning, Vice President of Sales & Marketing. "We understand the critical services that Hospital Wing provides by transporting critically ill and injured patients to hospitals for life-saving care, and we pledge to make sure your aircraft are available to perform these vital missions when called upon by providing world-class support."

Airbus Helicopters' H130 is considered the global reference for single-engine helicopter air ambulance missions, offering a twin-engine size cabin with single-engine economics. The wide, unobstructed cabin allows for easy and unobstructed full-body access to care for patients and has large hinged and sliding doors for rapid patient loading and unloading. The low interior sound levels and flat floor of the H130 provide a flexible cabin environment capable of accommodating up to three medical crew and specialty team equipment required to care for complex patients.