Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

New emergency helicopter serves Encinitas

Reach Air Medical now competes with Mercy Air

Mercy Air, the longtime sole provider of emergency medical flights in San Diego, now has some competition. On the morning of November 6, Reach Air Medical Services debuted its new helicopter to Encinitas firefighters, lifeguards, and paramedics. The new rescue copter landed at the Moonlight Beach parking lot for a thorough inspection by local first responders.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Though based in Santa Rosa (and founded in 1987), the company will fly their helicopter out of the Oceanside airport. Pilot Matt McLuckie said once an emergency call comes in, the crew of three (himself, a flight nurse, and flight paramedic) can have “skids up” in as little as six minutes.

They could fly to Encinitas and land in about five minutes. As soon as the copter lands, “We can have the patient loaded and skids up in less than ten minutes,” said the former Marine pilot. Then it’s usually only a ten-minute flight to one of the two local trauma centers — Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla or Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.

Emergency dispatchers will contact one of the now two air-rescue companies, depending on which unit is closest to the scene.

Emergency personnel have designated five landing sites along the coast of Encinitas, says Encinitas Fire Dept. battalion chief Darrin Ward. In addition to Moonlight Beach, the other sites are Seaside Beach, Ada Harris Elementary School, Scripps Memorial Hospital, and Paul Ecke Central Elementary School. But with onboard computers in the chief’s truck, he can direct the copter to land anywhere necessary, even on a street or freeway.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema

Mercy Air, the longtime sole provider of emergency medical flights in San Diego, now has some competition. On the morning of November 6, Reach Air Medical Services debuted its new helicopter to Encinitas firefighters, lifeguards, and paramedics. The new rescue copter landed at the Moonlight Beach parking lot for a thorough inspection by local first responders.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Though based in Santa Rosa (and founded in 1987), the company will fly their helicopter out of the Oceanside airport. Pilot Matt McLuckie said once an emergency call comes in, the crew of three (himself, a flight nurse, and flight paramedic) can have “skids up” in as little as six minutes.

They could fly to Encinitas and land in about five minutes. As soon as the copter lands, “We can have the patient loaded and skids up in less than ten minutes,” said the former Marine pilot. Then it’s usually only a ten-minute flight to one of the two local trauma centers — Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla or Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.

Emergency dispatchers will contact one of the now two air-rescue companies, depending on which unit is closest to the scene.

Emergency personnel have designated five landing sites along the coast of Encinitas, says Encinitas Fire Dept. battalion chief Darrin Ward. In addition to Moonlight Beach, the other sites are Seaside Beach, Ada Harris Elementary School, Scripps Memorial Hospital, and Paul Ecke Central Elementary School. But with onboard computers in the chief’s truck, he can direct the copter to land anywhere necessary, even on a street or freeway.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.