Improve HEMS service through PBN routes based on GNSS only

Abstract

Trentino is a small mountain area in the North of Italy, well known as touristic zone with a good offer in terms of activities that could be performed (skiing, biking, hiking, sailing, paragliding, climbing,.....), where population can varies from about half million residential people to a touristic seasonal population some times more. PAT Nucleo Elicotteri VVF is a small Air Operator Certificate, Part 145 and Part M approved helicopters company inside firefighting and civil protection service, based in LIDT Trento-Mattarello airport, entitled by local government to ensure HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) capability in entire administrate territory. Service is performed by two AW139 and a AS365N3, two AS350B3 are for aerial work only. Typical local areas are not so easy for HEMS purpose due to roughness of territory. More than half of surface, where take places touristic activities, are over 1500m a.m.s.l. In particular lots of mountain and tight valleys could obstacle flying, introducing an high risk level in order to guarantee HEMS capabilities through 24H, especially in nighttime, where only some hospitals have an emergency medical unit and the patients are to be centralized from the peripheral local hospital. In order to improve HEMS service, Società Aeroporto Caproni spa (local airport public company) in conjunction with PAT Nucleo Elicotteri VVF won a GSA call for the development of new PBN routes through European SBAS service EGNOS.