Luxembourg Air Rescue

Luxembourg Air Rescue Asbl ; (LAR)
purpose	Private, non-profit association
Chair:	René Closter (President)
Establishment date:	April 18, 1988
Number of members:	183,450 (December 31, 2017)
Seat :	Luxembourg
Website:	http://www.lar.lu

The Luxembourg Air Rescue is a private, non-profit organization and the only organization representing the Air Rescue assures in Luxembourg and which can reach any point of the country within 10 minutes in an emergency.

activities

Luxembourg

MD902 helicopter

Every day three rescue and intensive care helicopters are available in Luxembourg to save human lives. LAR operates a total of five MD902 rescue helicopters .

Greater Region

The “Air Rescue 3” helicopter is available every day in Luxembourg , the Trier region and Saarland . These are alerted for the Trier region by the integrated control center in Trier. For the Saarland, the alarm is sent via the Saarbrücken- Winterberg rescue control center.

Worldwide

LearJet 45 XR ambulance aircraft of LAR

Patient repatriation in the LearJet45XR ambulance jet

On Findel Airport , the home base of the ambulance aircraft of the Air Rescue is. The aircraft are suitable for day and night missions on medium and long-haul routes and are equipped for the transport of intensive care patients between clinics, international repatriations of sick people and those injured in accidents. As part of a change of fleet, the LearJet 35A aircraft will be replaced by new LearJet 45XR aircraft. The fleet currently consists of six LearJet 45XR ambulance aircraft.

Organ transport

Since 2007, LAR has been entrusted with organ team transport for France based on a European tender that it won.

Humanitarian operations

Relief operation 2005 in Pakistan

Assistance in disaster operations in cooperation with the Luxembourg government, NATO and the United Nations partner of emergency.lu.

Emergency.lu is an agreement between the Luxembourg government and the consortium consisting of HITEC Luxembourg SA and SES Astra TechCom SA - in partnership with Luxembourg Air Ambulance SA - for the worldwide provision of an emergency solution for disaster relief and humanitarian operations. The convention covers the installation and operation of a global satellite communications system. Luxembourg Air Ambulance ensures that everything runs smoothly at Findel Airport and that the satellite communication system is transported quickly by air.

history

Until 1988 there was no air rescue in Luxembourg. Although the Luxembourg state had an agreement with various emergency services abroad that made it possible to use an emergency helicopter if necessary, this only applied to flights from a hospital in Luxembourg to a hospital abroad. There were no primary missions. Professional firefighters wanted to be faster in emergency operations in order to save human lives. This gave birth to the idea of a Luxembourg air rescue service. Against the resistance of the interior minister and civil defense , the firefighters campaigned for the purchase of a rescue helicopter and founded the association "Luxembourg Air Rescue".

While looking for support, the group came across Siegfried Steiger from Germany. The trained architect lost his son Björn in a bicycle accident in 1969 because the ambulance came too late to the scene of the accident. Steiger collected money, called the "Steiger Foundation" into being and founded the " German Air Rescue Service " ( DRF Luftrettung ). Steiger was ready to help the Luxembourgers and rented one of his helicopters, a Bell Long Ranger and crew. Since neither the responsible persons at the airport nor the Ministry of Transport provided a suitable building for accommodation, a discarded tank tent served as a roof for the helicopter. A caravan served as an office. In March 1989 the helicopter was put into operation. Siegfried Steiger advanced the costs incurred and the debts were repaid later.

Luxembourg Air Rescue

In 1991 the LAR was integrated into the Luxembourg rescue system

On June 15, 1989, the Air Rescue was granted the statute of an association of public utility. But primary missions were still not allowed to be flown. So the civil defense started a signature campaign to prevent the rescue service from being integrated into the emergency doctor system.

In November 1991, after long negotiations with the state, Air Rescue was integrated into the SAMU system. For safety reasons, the SAMU doctors insisted on a two-turbine helicopter, which Air Rescue then rented from the DRF. This tripled the costs. In 1995, Air Rescue rented an additional helicopter, and from 1996 a second base was opened in the St. Louis Clinic in Ettelbrück . Luxembourg was now one of the countries that had the best and most extensive coverage by helicopters.

In 1995 the then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri took over the patronage , the association got more and more members and more donations. However, due to the new international JAR-OPS regulations, Air Rescue had to put two modern category A helicopters into operation. These should ensure that a helicopter with engine damage can not only land safely with the remaining, intact engine, but is also still able to fly on. The Air Rescue leased two state-of-the-art McDonnell Douglas helicopters, the MD900 Explorer . Luxembourg Air Rescue was the first operator in Europe to use this helicopter. The medical interior of the two aircraft is the same as that in the SAMU vehicle and is therefore interchangeable.

In order to be able to look after its members even better, the Air Rescue decided in 1998 to lease its own ambulance aircraft. From now on, accident victims could also be brought back from distant countries. The machine, a Mitsubishi MU-2, is equipped for the transport of intensive care patients. The Air Rescue flew many missions abroad and therefore added a LearJet 35A to its fleet in 2000. This enabled repatriation flights worldwide to be carried out independently and with our own staff under optimal conditions.

ISO certificate

In July 2002, Air Rescue was the first air rescue service in the world to be awarded the highest quality label, the ISO 9001 certificate. It thus guarantees constantly controlled and therefore optimal safety and quality in the interests of the patient.

Development of the range of applications

In the first years after the founding of the Air Rescue especially many ambulance services of premature babies in specially managed incubator, which were incubator performed.
Many severely burned people were also flown abroad, as Luxembourg does not have a specialist clinic for burn patients.
Since 1991, the rescue service has also been integrated into the SAMU system and flies so-called primary missions. That means, she brings the ambulance directly to the scene.
The Air Rescue provides the "Search and Rescue" service for Luxembourg, i. In other words, it tracks down missing people or rescues them from awkward situations. That is why the pilots are also equipped with night vision devices, which is otherwise only reserved for the military.
The task of the rescue service also includes cooperation with the Grand Ducal Police. These services are fully covered by the state.
Furthermore, the Air Rescue is an accredited partner of the United Nations and participates in international humanitarian missions. So there was B. Operations in earthquake-destroyed areas in Iran and Morocco . The longest mission to date was in Pakistan after an earthquake in October 2005 . After the 2004 tsunami disaster , the Air Rescue was also on duty with an airplane to help the people there.
The Air Rescue took on a new area of responsibility in October 2007 by transporting organs for the University Hospital of Strasbourg and, since July 2008, for all of France.
In 2010, it was decided to purchase an extinguishing water tank in cooperation with the Luxembourg fire brigade and the Ministry of the Interior. The Air Rescue can now support the fire brigade from the air in inaccessible fires and in forest and wild fires.

The rescue today

The Air Rescue operates today with six helicopters of the type McDonnell Douglas MD902 and six LearJet 45 XR and is thus one of the leading air rescue companies in Europe. The Air Rescue specialists are on duty around the clock, 365 days a year, to save lives.

From the idea and vision of a few committed firefighters, thanks to the support of the Luxembourg population, a modern and highly professional organization has emerged that operates according to the highest safety and quality standards.

bases

Only MD902 helicopters are operated at the bases .

Nickname	place	Stationing place	location	Internet	comment
Air Rescue 1	Findel	Findel Airport	49.624949 6.198952	data sheet
Air Rescue 2	Ettelbruck	LAR base in Ettelbrück	49.85433 6.094489	data sheet
Air Rescue 3	Findel	Findel Airport	49.624949 6.198952	data sheet	Assignments in Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate for the Trier region and Saarland) and France.