A Sunshine Coast rescue helicopter crew came to the aid of more people than ever last year.
The LifeFlight Sunshine Coast aeromedical unit rescued paragliders, skydivers, water skiers and boaties.
The crew helped 569 people last year, up 2.15 per cent on 2023, and continued a trend of year-on-year growth.
The helicopter clocked up 938 flight hours and attended a diverse range of incidents.
They included helping 101 people in the wake of motor vehicle crashes, 72 people with cardiac problems, 10 people injured by animals and five people found following search and rescues.
Statistics show the Sunshine Coast numbers helped fuel another record year for LifeFlight, with 8477 people helped across the state.
The figure was 13 per cent higher than 2023 and more than any other year in the not-for-profit’s 46-year history.
During a busy year for the group, construction started on a new $18.5 million Sunshine Coast base, which will accommodate two AW139 helicopters and one Challenger 604 jet, and is close to three times the size of the current hangar.
LifeFlight chief operating officer Lee Schofield said the Sunshine Coast crew attended a highly diverse range of emergencies in 2024.
“Our aeromedical crews can be tasked to everything from motor vehicle crashes, farming accidents to search and rescues, all in the one day,” he said.
“It is why our crews are trained to handle all eventualities and are adept at handling complex missions.
“Queensland’s strong population growth combined with our expanded capabilities mean we are called on more to help Queenslanders whenever and wherever we are needed.
“It is why we are investing in new training programs, AW139 helicopters and bases in the regions where we operate.”
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He said this year LifeFlight would also expand its free First Minutes Matter trauma training workshops across the state.
“This is an important step in improving community resilience, especially at a time when the number of patients needing help grows year on year,” he said.
LifeFlight chief medical officer Allan MacKillop said aeromedical crews were ready to help with a vast range of medical emergencies in some of the remotest parts of the state.
“Our medical staff undergo intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy, including Helicopter Underwater Escape Training, rescue winching and clinical scenario training, so they are ready for any eventuality,” he said.
“They can be called out to administer emergency medicine under the most trying circumstances, such as wild weather, or the aftermath of a multi-vehicle accident.
“It is why our helicopters are fitted out as mobile intensive care units with specially designed medical equipment for life-saving care, whether that is operating 35,000 feet above the ground in a Challenger jet or in the back of a helicopter.
“This aeromedical intervention is critical, significantly increasing a patient’s chance of survival, so it is vitally important.”
LifeFlight’s helicopter crews, operating from bases on the Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Roma and Brisbane, clocked up 3534 missions in 2024.
The number of missions was 24 per cent higher than 2023, while flight hours also increased by 20 per cent to 5551.
Much of LifeFlight’s aeromedical work involved inter-facility transfers or moving patients between medical facilities.
LifeFlight has helped more than 90,000 people since first taking to the skies in 1979 on the Sunshine Coast.
Notable call-outs for the Sunshine Coast crew
- February – LifeFlight airlifts injured paraglider after falling 10 metres. The male paraglider was taken to hospital following an accident in the Gympie region.
- May – Skydiver airlifted after crash landing. A man was taken to hospital after a skydiving incident in the Somerset region.
- May – Motorist airlifted after crashing down embankment. The man was driving along a highway in the Gympie region, when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road and crash into trees.
- July – Man airlifted after two-vehicle head-on collision. The vehicle the man was driving collided with a utility heading in the opposite direction of the highway.
- September – LifeFlight airlifts injured water skier to hospital. A man was injured in a water-skiing accident in the Somerset region.
- October – LifeFlight winches paraglider in multi-agency rescue. The paraglider crashed into an 80m sand cliff in the Gympie region.
- December – LifeFlight winches man from cruise ship. The Sunshine Coast-based crew winched a man with a cardiac condition off a cruise ship 30 nautical miles north of K’gari, and heading from Singapore to Brisbane.
- December – LifeFlight winches paraglider to safety. Two paragliders became intertwined and fell 30m onto a sand cliff after colliding.
