A few days ago, accompanied by a buzzing sound, an "auspicious bird" flapped its wings and slowly flew into the blue sky under the gaze of hundreds of people... This "auspicious bird" model is AC311A, which is a helicopter produced by Changhe Aircraft Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. of Aviation Industry. At the opening ceremony of the 2023 Jiangxi Ji'an Safety Zone helicopter emergency rescue take-off and landing point held at the Chengnan Campus of Bailuzhou Middle School in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, this "auspicious bird" carried the expectations of the people of Ji'an and extended the emergency rescue route to all townships in the city.
By the end of August this year, the Ji'an municipal government had invested a total of 1.1 million yuan, relying on various township government compounds (7), township health centers (5), railway stations or sports squares (62), various school playgrounds (138), highway service areas (7) and other sites, to complete the construction of 219 temporary helicopter take-off and landing points, achieving full coverage of aviation emergency rescue at the city, county and township levels.
Opening up the air lifeline of emergency rescue, building a "golden hour" rescue circle, and forming an all-disaster and large-scale emergency rescue network integrating water, land and air are precisely the exploration of the "road" by Ji'an people. Why create air routes? How to establish an aviation emergency rescue system? What role can it play? With questions, the reporter walked into Ji'an for an interview.
Helicopters are widely used to carry out tasks such as airlifting supplies, first aid for the wounded, etc.
Life first - clarify needs and establish mechanisms
Ji'an City is located in the hinterland of central and western Jiangxi Province, and its jurisdiction is mostly hilly and mountainous, and the water system network resembles leaf veins, and there are still many deep mountains and dense forests that are rarely visited.
"If someone is in distress in the wilderness, or a traffic accident occurs on a winding road, it is difficult for rescuers to arrive at the scene in a short time, and even when they arrive at the scene, it is difficult to treat and transfer on the spot like urban emergency rescue." Zhang Changwei, captain of the Ji'an Aviation Emergency Rescue Team, told reporters that he had participated in many field rescues, from receiving the task, finding the injured and emergency treatment, to carrying the stretcher to the ambulance, the whole process took at least 3 hours.
For a long time, injuries caused by traffic accidents, falls from heights, wild play and other reasons have been common, and once the rescue and treatment are not timely, it often causes serious consequences. According to the WeChat public account "Healthy China" hosted by the National Health Commission, 62 million people seek medical treatment for trauma in the mainland every year, and the number of deaths reaches 700,000 to 800,000, accounting for about 9% of the total annual deaths in the country.
Xiong Shifeng, the attending doctor of the Trauma Emergency Center of Ji'an Central People's Hospital, has 17 years of experience in trauma emergency and has participated in many aviation emergency rescue missions. In his first year of work, Xiong Shifeng participated in a field emergency rescue. "The vehicle in distress fell into the canyon on the winding road, the ambulance could not get down, we could only carry a stretcher and walk for one hour to the bottom of the mountain to find the injured." Xiong Shifeng recalls, "Once the 'golden hour' is exceeded, it is difficult to effectively treat the trauma. Wangshan running dead horses is a true portrayal of emergency rescue in hilly and mountainous areas. ”
Li Liangbin, secretary of the party committee and director of the Ji'an Emergency Management Bureau, told reporters that in order to meet the people's urgent needs and expectations for high-level emergency rescue and support services, Ji'an actively explores the construction of an aviation emergency rescue system to ensure that in the event of major natural disasters and sudden acute and serious diseases, a more effective and convenient way of life can be opened.
"Most trauma patients are young adults, the pillars of society and families. If a helicopter can be used to open up an aerial lifeline and shorten the rescue time, it is of great significance for trauma treatment. Xiong Shifeng said.
Zhang Changwei said that during field rescue, helicopters can drop supplies on isolated islands or hover several meters above the surface, allowing divers to perform underwater search and rescue missions.
As a national pilot province for low-altitude economic development and a pilot province for the construction of the national emergency rescue aviation system, Jiangxi has rich aviation industry resources. As the "main force" of general aviation, helicopters have strong mobility, wide rescue range, rapid response in the event of major accidents and natural disasters, and can be widely used in emergency rescue, forest fire prevention, natural disaster handling, medical rescue and other aspects.
However, after investigation, Li Liangbin found that some people think that helicopter emergency rescue is a high-level service, and they prefer to adopt routine working methods in daily emergency rescue. Some people also believe that the safety factor of aviation flight is low, prone to safety accidents, and subjectively the willingness to use helicopters to carry out emergency rescue work is not strong.
In this regard, Ji'an City communicated with market operation enterprises, decided to establish a strategic cooperative relationship with Changhe Aircraft Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. of Aviation Industry, and established a linkage mechanism with Jiangxi An Gaoxu Technology Co., Ltd., a local general aviation operation enterprise, to demonstrate social needs and find deficiencies, and timely issued a series of policy guidance documents.
In 2019, the Ji'an Municipal Government issued the Implementation Plan for the Purchase of General Aviation Public Flight Services in Ji'an, planning to build helicopter emergency rescue networks in various townships and towns in Ji'an, and actively carrying out helicopter emergency rescue practice exploration as the aviation development goals and tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan" of Ji'an.
In 2021, the Ji'an Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the Municipal Emergency Management Bureau jointly issued the Notice on Further Accelerating the Construction of the Three-Level Helicopter Emergency Rescue Network System at the City, County (District) and Township (Town) levels, and established the Office for the Promotion of the Construction of the Three-Level Helicopter Emergency Rescue Network System, which is specifically responsible for the guidance, coordination, promotion and scheduling of daily work.
Zeng Tao, director of the Emergency Command Center of Ji'an Emergency Management Bureau, told reporters that after nearly three years of exploration, Ji'an City has clarified the construction standards for temporary take-off and landing points for helicopters and the process of emergency rescue and handling, adhered to the parallel government-led and market-oriented services, and laid the foundation for building an integrated emergency rescue network of water, land and air.
Putting Practicality First -- Laying a Good Foundation and Improving the System
Luofu Town is located in the east of Jinggangshan Scenic Area, surrounded by mountains and green water. After nearly 3 years of site selection, investigation, communication, planning and demonstration, in April 2022, under the promotion of the Jinggangshan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, the fixed take-off and landing point of Jinggangshan helicopter (aviation emergency rescue support base) was established in Jinggangshan Luofu Scenic Area.
"The support base is a fixed operation base, which can provide various emergency rescue services at any time with a normal, all-weather on-duty crew team." Tang Jianhua, secretary of the party committee and director of the Jinggangshan Emergency Management Bureau, told reporters that the base was built by Jiangxi Helicopter General Aviation Co., Ltd. with an investment of 120 million yuan, which can radiate more than 120,000 square kilometers within 200 kilometers and is an important point of Ji'an's aviation emergency rescue system.
The reporter learned that the base is located in the Jinggangshan original paper mill area of Luofu Town, and is planned to be constructed in two phases. The first phase covers an area of 17.5 acres, and 3 helicopter emergency support aprons are built, one of which is a large helipad with a diameter of about 60 meters, which can take off and land transport helicopter Straight-8 and civil transport helicopter AC313; The two are small and medium-sized aprons with a diameter of about 26 meters, which can take off and land Zhi-10, Zhi-11 series armed helicopters and civilian AC311 series helicopters. At the scene, the reporter saw that the ground hardening had been completed, which could meet the take-off and landing conditions of various types of helicopters.
"The requirements for take-off and landing points can be summed up in one sentence: practicality as the first criterion." Li Liangbin said that the construction of the aviation emergency rescue system mainly includes three stages, namely site selection, survey and construction. The temporary take-off and landing point of helicopters in Ji'an City is selected as one of three ways, with convenient transportation, can be connected to vehicles to enter and exit with aviation medical emergency rescue, good clearance conditions as the standard, but also to meet the requirements of hardened ground with a diameter of 20 meters to 30 meters.
In 2022, the Ji'an Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the Municipal Emergency Management Bureau jointly issued the Notice on Issuing the Construction Task of the Township Helicopter Temporary Take-Off and Landing Point Project in 2022, preliminarily selecting the number, address and responsible unit of the take-off and landing point. Aviation Industry Changhe Aircraft Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. and Jiangxi An Gaoxu Technology Co., Ltd. assisted emergency management departments at all levels in Ji'an to survey the pre-selected sites of more than 600 temporary take-off and landing points of helicopters in Ji'an.
During the construction process, Zeng Tao and the staff of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission actively coordinated, dispatched and supervised the promotion of townships and towns with slow construction progress.
"We went to Jinggangshan City, Yongxin County and Yongfeng County to carry out site selection work. Most of the mountain roads here are very winding, hundreds of kilometers a day, and there is no one in the team who does not get motion sickness. According to Zeng Tao's recollection, in the process of site selection, when the group arrived at the take-off and landing point in Huangao Township, Jinggangshan City, local township cadres had been waiting for a long time. A total of three places were recommended in Huangao Township, namely next to National Road 220 in Zhongling Group of Huangao Village, next to the Huangcol Connecting Line of Yisui Expressway in Shangwan Group of Hongshi Village, and next to the Huangcol Connecting Line of Yisui Expressway in Longzhou Group of Guangyu Village. After surveying, the clearance around the recommended site did not meet the requirements and could not meet the helicopter landing conditions. In the end, the site selection team had to give up and move on to the next alternate take-off and landing location.
In Yangwanli Park, Jishui County, people have become accustomed to the large "H" with a length of 6 meters and a width of 4 meters. Luo Xiaojun, secretary of the party committee and director of the Jishui County Emergency Management Bureau, told reporters that all 19 temporary take-off and landing points in Jishui County have been completed, of which 2 are county towns, all of which are built on the original basis to avoid duplicate construction and waste of resources.
This situation can also be seen in Luling Cultural Square in Ji'an County. The square is spacious and beautiful, attracting many people for entertainment and leisure. In the middle of the square, there is a group of teenagers engaged in roller skating, and there is also a big "H" at their feet.
"The site selection, survey and construction of the take-off and landing point is not complicated, it is built on the basis of the original plot of the square, the capital investment can be minimized, and there are 3 hospitals around about 1 km, which provides great convenience for emergency rescue." Zhu Lu, director of the Emergency Management Office of Dunhou Town, Ji'an County, told reporters that in accordance with the principle of territorial management, if a temporary use notice is received, personnel will be organized to clean up the site, ensure cleanliness, and dynamically track management. In order to ensure the safety of take-off and landing, a cordon will be raised around the perimeter and fire extinguishing equipment will be arranged.
Liu Minghui, director of the Ji'an County Emergency Rescue Support Center, introduced to reporters that according to the daily management specifications of helicopter emergency rescue take-off and landing points in Ji'an, the territorial emergency management department is responsible for regularly maintaining the temporary take-off and landing points, registering, surveying, confirming whether the take-off and landing conditions are met, and regularly reporting the maintenance situation to the superior emergency management department.
Actual combat is the key -- efficient coordination while building
A total of more than 100 emergency rescue sorties have been dispatched by helicopters, more than 160 wounded and sick people have been rescued, more than 20 official survey and surveying sorties, more than 30 security incidents have been handled, more than 100 forest patrols have been carried out, and more than 300 joint exercises have been carried out...
Since the opening of emergency rescue and navigation services in 2019, Ji'an has highlighted practical combat and practicality, integrated emergency resources, implemented step-by-step promotion, and set up a special fund pool for general aviation public aviation services in Ji'an, with special funds allocated by the city-level finance of 2.1 million yuan per year and 300,000 yuan from the finances of 13 counties and municipalities, a total of 6 million yuan. In accordance with the requirements of the Implementation Plan for the Purchase of General Aviation Public Flight Services in Ji'an and the Scope of General Aviation Public Flight Services, all relevant units submitted applications for emergency flight services, and the expenses were deducted from the special fund pool for general aviation public aviation services, thus building an aerial lifeline to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.
In 2021, Jinggangshan City held the "Forest Fire Prevention Air Inspection" activity, which conducted helicopter aerial inspections of nearly 2 million mu of forest vegetation in its jurisdiction for the first time. Through aerial aerial viewing, collecting pictures, sorting out data, setting detailed flight trajectories for areas that cannot be reached by people and vehicles, and combining mountain names and place names to form patrol data archives, special calibration for some high-risk areas can more intuitively and comprehensively grasp the comprehensive appearance of forest vegetation in Jinggangshan City, so that hidden dangers and dangers that are difficult to find due to the inaccessibility of people and vehicles can be grasped in time.
On September 20, 2022, a traffic accident occurred on a national road section in Taihe County, and after arriving at the scene as soon as possible, after preliminary diagnosis, the patient suffered multiple contusions throughout the body due to a car accident, hemorrhagic shock (closed abdominal injury: liver, pancreas, left kidney contusion, pancreatic tail and local mesenteric injury, massive blood accumulation in the abdominal and pelvic cavity, bilateral rib fracture), and urgently dispatched helicopters for transfer to fight for rescue time. After receiving the information, the Ji'an Emergency Command Center immediately contacted Jiangxi Helicopter General Aviation Co., Ltd. to send a helicopter to the scene to urgently transfer the injured.
The reporter learned that in the event of major natural disasters, accidents and various emergencies, search and rescue, material transportation, casualty transfer, rescue drills, air command, disaster assessment and inspection, urban fire rescue, medical rescue, and emergency handling tasks have all been included in the scope of Ji'an general navigation services. After practice and exploration, Ji'an City has gradually clarified the rescue process and smoothed the channels for multi-party cooperation to carry out rescue.
"When such reports or notices are received, rescue qualifications will be immediately assessed based on on-site feedback and airworthiness conditions will be assessed. If it is not eligible or unseaworthy, it will be rescued by an emergency center; If it is met, it will immediately dock with the general aviation company to carry out rescue. Zeng Tao said that there are 2 people in the emergency command center who are specially responsible for receiving police on duty and implementing 24-hour duty to ensure that the air lifeline is smooth.
After receiving the emergency rescue request, the general aviation company will immediately contact the air traffic control unit to ensure that it can be dispatched within 15 minutes and arrive at any helicopter take-off and landing point in Kyrgyzstan within 60 minutes, and dispatch corresponding rescue teams and carry corresponding rescue equipment according to the needs of different rescue missions.
In order to ensure orderly and efficient rescue, all departments at all levels in Ji'an actively cooperate and perform their respective duties, laying a solid foundation for opening up an aerial lifeline.
On May 13, 2022, the Anfu County Flood Control and Drought Control Headquarters carried out the 2022 flash flood geological disaster rescue drill in the Wugong Mountain View Area. The exercise simulated a flash flood and landslide in the Wugong Mountain Scenic Area, with 8 "donkey friends" trapped and 2 unaccounted for. During the rescue process, a "donkey friend" suffered serious leg injuries, excessive blood loss, unconsciousness, and urgently needed emergency medical treatment, but the flood blocked the road into the mountain, and the ambulance could not reach the scenic area. At the same time, it simulates that a villager in a certain place in Anfu County is besieged by floods, the road into the village is destroyed, and rescue materials, dry food and drinking water are urgently needed. In order to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the trapped people, the Ji'an Flood Control and Drought Control Headquarters dispatched emergency rescue helicopters to airlift disaster relief materials, and then flew to scenic spots to rescue the wounded, do a good job in first aid for the wounded, material distribution and other work, the exercise activities were efficient and compact, and achieved the expected results.
"Although I am afraid of heights, I am very active in aviation emergency rescue." Xiong Shifeng said that when performing aviation emergency rescue tasks, the hospital will send a doctor and a nurse. Medical staff must undergo rigorous training and master aviation emergency rescue skills.
"Although the aircraft can be equipped with ventilators, suction machines, ECG monitors and other equipment, there is a big difference between aviation emergency rescue and ground rescue." Liu Zhipeng, general manager of Jiangxi Helicopter General Aviation Co., Ltd., said that the general aviation company will organize at least one aviation medical rescue related knowledge and skill training every year, explain the aviation emergency rescue process and key points for medical personnel, the use of aviation rescue airborne medical equipment and equipment, and carry out simulated aviation emergency incident drills to improve the rescue ability and psychological quality of medical personnel.
Zeng Tao said that in some field rescues, in addition to helicopters for air rescue, the cooperation of ground rescuers is also crucial. In this regard, the Ji'an Emergency Management Bureau gave full play to the role of social rescue forces and established the Ji'an Emergency Aviation Rescue Team to carry out emergency rescue, safety knowledge publicity, air command, aviation rescue, forest fire prevention, natural disaster rescue, mountain rescue, urban rescue, emergency rescue training, emergency support and other work in Ji'an.
"It should be noted that when the helicopter is rappelled at high altitude, there is nowhere to borrow power, and there will be a more complex air service environment, which is quite different from the mountain and high-rise building abseiling. Therefore, professional training must be strengthened to ensure the smooth progress of aviation emergency rescue. Zhang Changwei said.
Introduction of the main model
AC311A is a 2-ton single-engine, 6-seat single-rotor, tail rotor light helicopter equipped with a highly integrated avionics system with strong mission expansion capabilities, which can meet the requirements of most parts of the mainland, especially the plateau area.
The Zhi-11 is the first light helicopter with independent intellectual property rights designed and developed by Mainland, equipped with an instrument system, which can be used for coaching, communication, liaison, ambulance, patrol and other tasks.
AC311 is a 2-ton single-engine single-rotor, multi-purpose civil helicopter with tail rotor, the whole machine uses a large number of composite materials, widely used in passenger and cargo transportation, flight training, business flight, after modification of mission equipment can perform medical rescue, power line patrol, air law enforcement, aerial photography, flying insect control, forest protection and fire prevention and other tasks.
AC313 is a 13-ton large three-engine civil helicopter, which can fly visually and instrumentally on land, water and ice-free conditions, meeting the requirements of helicopters in complex areas such as high temperature, cold climate and plateau, and is widely used in search and rescue, forest protection and fire fighting, passenger and cargo transportation, medical rescue, hanging operations, marine investigation, etc.
Reporter's Notes: Waiting under the scorching sun
"The departure time is approved, 13:30, please be ready." A few days ago, on the football field of Bailuzhou Middle School in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, the crew of AC311A, the main aircraft emergency rescue model of Ji'an, received a notice that the route application had been approved. After waiting under the scorching sun for more than 2 hours, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why is it so difficult to approve routes?"
In response to a reporter's question, the captain explained: "Because safety is the most important, we must ensure that the route is smooth. ”
A route refers to the route that an aircraft flies, also known as an air line of communication. The route not only determines the specific direction, starting point and stopping point of the aircraft, but also stipulates the width and flight altitude of the route according to the needs of air traffic control, so as to maintain air traffic order and ensure flight safety. During the flight, the two aircraft should maintain a certain altitude difference and horizontal distance difference, otherwise they will affect each other and even cause danger. In addition, no-fly zones, restricted areas, military activity areas, etc., will also affect the choice of routes. This means that even if you miss 1 minute, you may have to wait a long time before you are approved to take off.
During more than 2 hours of baking, the crew opened both sides of the helicopter hatches, forming a convective wind, hiding in the shadow of the propeller or fuselage, and inspecting equipment and facilities.
"If I don't sign, I can't take off." The ground crew (safety officer) told reporters that he is mainly responsible for the flight safety assessment of all landing sites, carrying out ground support, and ensuring the safety of flight and landing. After the helicopter landed, the ground crew (security officer) always bent over and was the first to rush over to "pick up the plane".
"The AC311A is a single-rotor helicopter with propellers directly above providing lift and tail rotors at the back providing balance." The mechanic (mechanic) introduced to reporters that he is mainly responsible for the assessment of airworthiness instructions, service notices, tools and equipment, aircraft corrosion conditions, etc., and carries out maintenance and safety inspections of aircraft.
"Planned flights, such as daily forest fire prevention patrols and emergency drills, must be applied for routes in advance and approved before flying." The captain told reporters that if there is an emergency, the crew will contact the air traffic control unit as soon as possible after receiving the notice, and at the same time be prepared to ensure that it can be dispatched within 15 minutes. "At this time, fighter jets and passenger planes will give us courtesy, just like vehicles on the road give way to ambulances." The captain said.
"Why build take-off and landing points? Can I land directly in the clearing? ”
In response to a reporter's question, the person in charge of the general aviation company said that he had participated in a rescue before, and because there was no suitable landing site, the air hovered for too long, the fuel consumption was too large, and the mission had to be canceled and returned.
When the helicopter lands, it needs enough landing space, not all sites can meet the conditions, and the slope angle during landing and the wind speed when hovering must meet the limits specified in the flight manual. At the same time, the latitude and longitude of the take-off and landing point is also an indispensable land "lighthouse" when applying for a route, which is convenient for the flight administrator to command and deploy.
Building and maintaining take-off and landing points well is the basis for the construction of aviation emergency rescue system. Some insiders revealed to reporters that the construction cost standards of take-off and landing points are not unified in various places, and the highest is hundreds of thousands of yuan. Ji'an relies on various township governments, township health centers, sports squares, railway stations, training bases, various school playgrounds and other venues, greatly reducing the construction cost of take-off and landing points.
The construction of aviation emergency rescue system is inseparable from the strong support of local governments and relevant departments, as well as scientific planning and rational construction, and requires the joint efforts of the government, enterprises and society.
●Author: reporter Liu Qiyu, intern reporter Li Chaochao, correspondent Guo Zhiwu
●Source: China Emergency Management News, August 28, third edition Original title "Open up the shipping route, smooth the road and walk out of the new road--A review of the construction of aviation emergency rescue system in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province" Responsible editor: Liu Zhuoyu
● Editor: Shi Yi