Night Vision Goggles
Night vision goggle technology has allowed CareFlight to conduct night operations in the Greater Sydney Area and in nothern Australia.
Our night vision goggle project has been a four-year undertaking, and has been made possible by generous donors and supporters who raised almost $200,000 to fund the program.
NVG improves night vision up to 16 times, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of night flying. NVG technology is not only one of the most significant advances in night flying safety, it is the single largest factor available to decrease response times to accidents occurring during the dark.
The chief pilot of CareFlight, Captain Jeff Konemann, said NVG technology has been widely used in Australia for many years by the military.
“NVG technology has evolved considerably over the past 20 years and we will be using the latest equipment approved for civilian use,” Captain Konemann said. “ Night operations have always been our most hazardous and now we have the ability to reduce some of these hazards.”
CareFlight was granted approval to use NVG on our rescue helicopters by the Civilian Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in 2007 following a lengthy certification process. It was an Australian first for a civil Emergency Medical Service.
We also received approval from the Ambulance Service of NSW to use NVG on our HIRT helicopters in NSW and have expanded our operating hours to undertake night missions in the Greater Sydney Area.
CareFlight's first NVG medical mission
CareFlight undertook its first medical mission using night vision goggles (NVG) to airlift an 18-day-old baby boy from Katherine to hospital in Darwin in January 2009. The baby was suffering from pneumonia and respiratory distress.
The mission was conducted by CareFlight for the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families, carrying a doctor and nurse from the NT Aero Medical Services team.
NVG capability allowed the flight crew to land at Katherine Hospital helipad instead of the Tindal Airport, significantly reducing the time taken to retrieve the baby to Darwin for specialist treatment. The medical team requested that the CareFlight crew fly the return journey at a lower than normal altitude due to the child’s respiratory condition. The pilot was able to fly safely at 1,500 ft, which would not be possible without night vision capability.
Baby Alex was delivered to the Darwin Hospital just under four hours after departure, in a stable condition.
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