Christoph Berlin

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Christoph Berlin
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Christoph Berlin.JPG

Air rescue center data
Operator: DRF Luftrettung , Filderstadt
Carrier: Senate Department for Interior and Sport , State of Berlin
Helicopter type: Airbus Helicopters H145
Former LFZ *: until July 2016: Eurocopter EC145
until October 2011: Bell 412
Installation: 1993/94
Location: Accident Hospital Berlin (UKB)
Operational readiness: 24 hours
Particularities: Operations at night are carried out with night vision devices
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '8.7 "  N , 13 ° 34' 3.6"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '8.7 "  N , 13 ° 34' 3.6"  E
Height: 240 ft
crew
Pilot: DRF air rescue
Doctor: UKB and surrounding clinics (including clinic in Friedrichshain )
HEMS Technical Crew Member : DRF air rescue
* LFZ = aircraft

Christoph Berlin is an intensive care transport helicopter (ITH) in Germany that is involved in the emergency rescue of the state of Berlin . It is mainly used for interhospital transports of emergency patients and intensive care patients while continuing all necessary medical measures in Berlin and Brandenburg, but also in neighboring federal states. If necessary, it can also be used for emergency operations in the rescue service in Berlin and Brandenburg.

The helicopters of the type Airbus Helicopters H145 is the air rescue center at the Emergency Hospital Berlin stationed and 24-hour use of which is in the DRF air rescue operation. The control center of the Berlin fire brigade is responsible for alerting and dispatching .

Station and crew

Christoph Berlin is the only intensive care transport helicopter in Berlin. His air rescue station is the only one in 24-hour standby in Berlin and the Brandenburg area. In the authority structure of the Berlin fire brigade, the station is a base guard (6106 ITH Christoph Berlin), which is subordinate to the Northern Directorate. The helicopter is stationed on the roof of the Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin (UKB) in Berlin-Biesdorf ( location ). There is a helicopter landing pad with a rotating platform and a fully glazed hangar to accommodate the helicopter, as well as a tank system. The hangar also includes a flight preparation / follow-up room , sanitary facilities and a warehouse. The social and relaxation rooms for the crews are located directly below the hangar on the top floor of the UKB.

During the day, Christoph Berlin is on duty with a pilot from DRF-Luftrettung, a HEMS crew member ( emergency paramedic ) from ASB Rettungsdienst Berlin gGmbH and an emergency doctor who is provided by the UKB or the surrounding clinics. At night there are always two pilots, otherwise the crew is identical. The HEMS crew members are part of the helicopter crew and support the pilot in the areas of communication and navigation, while the emergency doctor is legally a passenger .

DRF Luftrettung has eight permanent pilots in Berlin. In addition, 14 emergency doctors and 14 HEMS crew members are alternating.

Operations and equipment

Calls

Christoph Berlin on an emergency mission

For use comes Christoph Berlin mainly in intensive care transports in Berlin and Brandenburg . There are also flights to or from Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as part of patient transfers . In addition to being used for these secondary missions , the control center of the Berlin Fire Brigade can also use Christoph Berlin for primary missions in Berlin and Brandenburg, provided that no rescue helicopter or other suitable rescue equipment can be deployed on time ( dual use ) .

The missions flown in recent years have been:

  • 1217 in 2019
  • 1313 in 2018
  • 1,099 in 2017, of which 402 primary missions and transports, 651 urgent secondary transports and 46 missed missions; a total of 46,489 flight minutes (excluding lead and lag time), of which 10,823 were for primary missions and transports, 35,139 for urgent secondary transports and 527 for missed missions
  • 1166 in 2016
  • 1145 in 2015
  • 1138 in 2014
  • 1167 in 2013, including 597 intensive care transports and 570 emergency missions (including missed missions)
  • 1094 in 2012, including 624 intensive care transports and 470 emergency missions (including missed missions)

Equipment of the helicopter

In addition to the standard equipment, the helicopter of the type H145 has instrument flight equipment , a weather radar , a satellite-based map reader and a satellite navigation system (GPS) that can be connected to the autopilot, as well as large additional lights for night landings. Since January 2012, night vision devices that can be attached to the pilot's helmet have been used, which has led to more night missions being flown. In total, 30 percent of emergency operations now take place at night. Furthermore, Christoph Berlin has been equipped with digital radio since January 2013 .

history

On August 15, 1993, the intensive care transport helicopter called ITH Berlin was put into service at the Berlin-Tempelhof Airport location . The aviation authority approval followed on October 14, 1994, the official commissioning in 1995.

On November 24, 2002 there was an aircraft accident in which a crew member died and the helicopter was destroyed (see incidents ).

Since July 1, 2005, the helicopter has been called Christoph Berlin . Due to the closure of Berlin-Tempelhof Airport, the location of the helicopter was relocated to the Berlin Accident Hospital on October 28, 2008 , which required the construction of a new hangar . This found its place directly on the roof of the Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin and was inaugurated there on July 14, 2009.

The renewal of the HDM Luftrettung fleet and, due to several complaints about the volume of the Bell 412 , a change to the EC 145 helicopter type took place in October 2011 , which is ideally suited for air rescue in the city and adapted for night vision devices due to its small external dimensions . On July 4, 2016, the change to the type H145 took place, a newer version of the EC 145 with a sheathed tail rotor, which made it possible to further reduce the noise level.

Naming

The name Christoph Berlin goes back to St. Christopher , the patron saint of travelers. Most intensive care transport helicopters bear the name Christoph after him , followed by the name of a city or region.

In Berlin, the Christoph 31 rescue helicopter is also stationed on the Benjamin Franklin campus of the Charité in Berlin-Lichterfelde, which is alerted primarily for emergency operations and belongs to the ADAC air rescue service .

Incidents

Aviation accident in 2002

During a mission, ITH Berlin crashed on November 24, 2002 at 10:16 p.m. while approaching the Pritzwalk-Sommersberg airfield in the Prignitz district of Brandenburg . At the airport, a life-threatening sick patient was to be taken over from the Pritzwalk hospital and flown to Potsdam for an emergency operation. In poor visibility, the pilot approached too quickly, whereupon the right runner broke off when it touched the ground. The Bell 412 (built in 1993) overturned, caught fire and burned out completely.

The copilot died in the wreck, apparently immediately after the impact as a result of a skull injury. The pilot and seat were thrown out of the helicopter on impact and seriously injured. The doctor and the paramedic were able to free themselves from the burning wreckage and suffered severe burns. In addition, the patient whom the helicopter was supposed to pick up died a short time later.

The accident pilot was fined in 2006. In the investigation report published in 2012, the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) came to the conclusion that the aircraft accident might a. was due to "the decision to continue the approach according to sight in insufficient weather conditions and missing visual references to a weakly illuminated landing area", inadequate training of the flight crew and inadequate specifications in the company's flight operations manual. Technical and health causes were excluded. The BFU issued a safety recommendation for the prevention of future accidents.

Web links

Commons : Christoph Berlin (air ambulance)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Berlin station . DRF Luftrettung , accessed on May 8, 2013.
  2. ↑ Invitation to tender, State of Berlin - represented by the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport, licensing procedure for the transfer of service concessions for the implementation of the air rescue service in Berlin to licensees; Lot 2: CHRISTOPH BERLIN air rescue center at the Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin (UKB); Announcement May 8, 2019 , (procedure not yet completed)
  3. ↑ a b c d Rolf Klukowski, Martin B. Hausmann: 20 years of air rescue in Berlin - Christoph Berlin of HDM air rescue celebrated an anniversary. In: Copterweb , November 3, 2014, accessed on May 18, 2019. “[...] that two different times of commissioning are mentioned again and again. The fact is that the intensive care transport helicopter 'Christoph Berlin', then still called 'ITH Berlin', was put into operation on August 15, 1993. On October 14, 1994, however, the approval for the 'ITH Berlin' was only granted by the then Senate Department for the Interior. As you can see from the 20th anniversary on October 14, 2014, this official date has now been set. "
  4. ↑ News on www.rth.info
  5. ↑ Stations on www.rth.info
  6. ^ Christoph Berlin: Station Berlin. DRF Luftrettung website , accessed on May 17, 2019. "On October 14, 1994, the approval for 'Christoph Berlin' was granted by the then Senate Department of the Interior."
  7. ^ Intensive transport helicopter (ITH): "Christoph Berlin", the flying intensive care unit. Website of the Berlin Fire Brigade , accessed on May 17, 2019: "He has been officially in service since 1995, initially under the name ITH Berlin, with the nationwide standardization of the radio call names at ITH operating under public law in 2005 under the BOS radio call name 'Christoph Berlin' in action. "
  8. ↑ Christoph Berlin: New hangar ready. rth.info, August 6, 2009, accessed May 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ Inauguration of the new location. Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Landesverband Berlin , July 24, 2009, accessed on May 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ News 1118
  11. ↑ New helicopter for Berlin air rescuers. Retrieved July 5, 2016 .
  12. ↑ a b c investigation report. Federal Agency for Aircraft Accident Investigation , file number BFU 3X267-02, August 2, 2012 (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  13. ↑ Berlin rescue helicopter crashed in the fog over the Prignitz. In: Die Welt , November 26, 2002, accessed on May 18, 2019.
  14. ↑ Fall from a low height. In: Berliner Morgenpost , November 26, 2002, accessed on May 18, 2019.
  15. ↑ Julian Löhe: Crash “ITH Berlin”: Negotiation before the district court Perleberg completed. In: Copterweb , June 15, 2006, accessed May 18, 2019.