If you read last week’s helicopter blog, then it won’t come as a surprise that I am going to focus on helicopter in the news again this week.
I found two stories this week that feature helicopters being used to rescue people in remote locations in need of medical care. One of them was about a California Highway Patrol helicopter that rescued a man who was swept away by the American River and the other featured a rescue by the Sonoma Sheriff’s helicopter of a climber who fell off a steep drop off. While both of these stories are amazing rescues; stories similar to these can be found most weeks as helicopters are frequently called upon to rescue people in remote locations that other vehicles cannot access. Helicopters play a large role in emergency support services for most communities.
According to Global Market Insights, “The increasing demand for helicopters for emergency medical services will provide growth opportunities through 2027. Helicopters have the ability to reach at high altitude locations faster than ground vehicles. At times, helicopters are the preferred mode of transport to reach inhospitable terrain in a limited timeframe. Patients receive early medical treatment and their chance of survival in critical cases surges significantly.”
And according to Grand View Research, “The global commercial helicopter market size was valued at USD 5.30 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8% from 2019 to 2025. Increasing usage of helicopters in Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Search and Rescue (SAR), and firefighting operations is expected to boost the growth.”
Clearly helicopter emergency management services (HEMS) and search and rescue are poised for strong growth during the next several years. These segments of the industry not only provide vital services that every community needs, but they also draw in a lot of people who want to become pilots with the very purpose of providing life-saving services. It’s one of the top career paths our students mention when asked about their future dream job.
If you are curious about the path to get from no experience to a helicopter pilot job like this, visit our career path page where we break down how you can build the hours and experience necessary to meet your goals. Also, our admissions team is available to tell you more about our professional pilot courses and answer any questions you might have. You can reach them at 503.726.3000 or info@flyhaa.com.