The pressurized cabin of the PC-24 air ambulance, configured especially for the RFDS in Australia, can accommodate all required medical equipment as well as beds for three patients and additional seats for medical personnel, according to a statement from Pilatus. Patients can be loaded and unloaded via an electric stretcher through the aircraft’s large cargo door, while a second and separate power system ensures uninterrupted medical assistance. The entire interior was installed in partnership with Aerolite AG, a Swiss company specializing in aircraft medical interiors.
“The PC-24 will become the emergency ward in the sky,” said Oscar J. Schwenk, chairman of Pilatus. “I am positive that the PC-24 will ideally supplement the existing fleet of PC-12s of the RFDS.”
RFDS will use the new aircraft, which can take off and land on short runways and unpaved strips, to transparent patients over longer distances throughout Australia.
“The innovative aeromedical interior is the first of its kind in the world – a game changer for patient outcomes and improving health care to regional and remote Australians,” said Rebecca Tomkinson, CEO of RFDS.