F-16 Saves Critically Ill Patient in Norway

An F-16 was credited with saving a critically ill patient’s life in northern Norway after the Falcon jet was used to rush specialized medical equipment halfway across the country in an improvised and most effective supersonic delivery platform

A man taken to a hospital in Bodø was in critical condition and in urgent need of an ECMO machine. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) a technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange to sustain life.
 

Doctors considered the patient's condition a death sentence, as they were already aware the closest one available was at a hospital in Trondheim, 280 miles to the south, a long 10-hour journey by car.

As a complete shot in the dark, considering the lack of available options, they decided to contact the 338th Squadron at the air force base near Trondheim.


Thanks to the quick thinking of the medical staff, and the support of the Norwegian Air Force, the medical equipment was quickly loaded onto a waiting air superiority all-weather multirole supersonic aircraft also known as a Viper.
The F-16 Falcon, utilizing its impressive thirty thousand pounds of thrust with afterburners...launched on its special medical mission, as a one of a kind supersonic emergency response vehicle, delivering the life-saving equipment in an unprecedented, and most expeditious manner to the hospital in Bodo.
Medical equipment was succesfully delivered, the patient saved, all before the engines even had a chance to cool.  Mission accomplished within 40 minutes of the desperate call being received...
 
 

 


4 comments


  • Don Violetto

    Absolutely heart warming!!!


  • Hasan Khan

    F-16, a true multi-role aircraft! Way to set an example, heroes! :)


  • richard beasley

    that was excellent job , well done by all parties


  • Michel Pelletier

    Outstanding Bravo well done


Leave a comment