Honored By Eurocopter For Safety Record Since 1984

American Eurocopter says it's proud to announce that the Flight For Life Transport System has won the 2011 Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award. As part of the award, American Eurocopter presented the program with a check for $10,000 to continue its efforts towards safety both within the organization and with its customers.

During the AMTC Community Awards Banquet in St. Louis, Treg Mannin, American Eurocopter’s Vice President of Sales, presented the award and the check to representatives from the Flight For Life team who were in attendance. "Flight For Life is a well-respected, CAMTS-accredited flight program that has provided more than 28 years of service with over 30,000 patient transports,” explained Manning. “Its commitment to safety includes an ongoing investment in significant upgrades in technology and the development of a strong culture of safety internally, as well as with its communities and customers.”

Flight For Life was the first hospital-based EMS helicopter program in Wisconsin, completing its first patient transport in January of 1984. In 1996, it became the first air medical program in Wisconsin to gain CAMTS accreditation, a standing it has held ever since.

Jim Singer, Flight For Life’s Transport System Director, was honored to be notified the program had won the award. “Learning that FFL had been chosen to receive what I consider to be our industry’s most prestigious award validated the many safety initiatives that our program has implemented over the past 28 years,” said Singer. “Barb Hess, one of our founders and first program director, would have been extremely proud of this achievement as she laid the foundation that created the safety culture our organization has today.”

According to Bill Bryant, Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Selection Committee, the choice was particularly difficult this year as there were a record number of high quality nominations. “In the end, Flight For Life rose to the top as this year’s winner because of FFL’s long history of involvement locally, regionally and nationally to promote safety in the air medical transport industry.”

FMI: www.flightforlife.org/FlightForLife