EAST ALTON — Air Methods Corp., doing business as ARCH Medical Services, found a new home at St. Louis Regional Airport to undergo specific maintenance mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration, such as periodic inspections, the airport’s director of aviation said.
Air Methods Corp. has established a maintenance facility and is leasing extra hangar space at St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton. The new location will support the safe and rapid air transport of critically ill and injured patients in Madison County and surrounding areas.
“St. Louis Regional has always been an active participant in regional emergency response planning,” the airport’s Director of Aviation David C. Miller said. “We are honored to have Air Methods choose our hangar to support this very critical, life-saving service.”
St. Louis Regional is out of the region’s vast floodplain, which also appeals to Air Methods Corp., Miller noted. The airport’s commercial hangar space for corporate-type aircraft is full, but room still is available for lease for privately-owned airplanes.
Air Methods maintains roughly 10 operational bases in Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri with overlapping service areas to ensure transportation is readily available 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Madison County locations where ARCH Medical Services stage their helicopters include near Alton Memorial Hospital and Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City.
This newest East Alton facility will occupy 65,000 square feet of hangar space along St. Louis Regional Airport’s runway with a dedicated helicopter launch area. St. Louis Regional has a variety of safety and support services available to the helicopter company including two maintenance providers on the grounds, and safety and firefighting services with FAR-139 certification that is equivalent to large commercial facilities such as Lambert or O’Hare airports.
“We regularly provide facilities for law enforcement orientation, touch-and-go training for air crews from Scott Air Force Base, ham radio operator meet-ups, and regional natural disaster preparedness drills,” Miller said. “This is stepping it up a level, and we think Air Methods is a great addition to our community safety offerings.”
Air Methods is the nation’s leading provider of air medical transport with close to 4,000 employees and more than 450 aircraft at 300 bases in the continental United States. More information on Air Methods and St. Louis Regional Airport can be found at www.airmethods.com and www.stlouisregional.com.
Original article can be found here: http://thetelegraph.com
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