Category: Air Force

Is there a doctor on the flight? Airmen save life on commercial airliner

A group of Air Force reservists were credited with saving the life of a man suspected of having a heart attack on a commercial flight on 19 Sept.

The airmen were part of a reserve aeromedical evacuation crew from the 433rd Airlift Wing out of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.

The team was traveling on a commercial airliner from Dallas, Texas, to support patient transport missions out of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Roughly 45 minutes into the flight, a 74-year-old man sitting next to Staff Sgt. April Hinojos, an aeromedical evacuation technician, complained to his wife that he felt faint, according to an Air Force press release.

The elderly man’s eyelids began to flutter, and he stopped responding to questions. That’s when Hinojos helped move him to the floor and evaluated the man’s condition.

“He didn’t have a pulse, so we immediately started [chest] compressions,” Hinojos said.

Around then, the pilot came over the intercom and asked if any medical personnel were on the plane.

“I had just started the movie and through my headphones I hear someone screaming for help,” said Maj. Carolyn Stateczny, an Air Force flight nurse.

The rest of the aeromedical crew was scattered throughout the plane and began working their way through the aisles to Hinojos and the man.

1st Lt. Laura Maldonado, another flight nurse, gathered the plane’s medical supplies for the airmen and Stateczny prepared an automated external defibrillator.

Capt. Justin Stein, the third flight nurse on the team, was unable to start the man on intravenous fluids because his blood vessels were constricted, possibly due to the suspected heart attack.

Tech. Sgts. Robert Kirk and Edgar Ramirez, both aeromedical evacuation technicians, worked on the man’s airway and provided oxygen.

“I’ve been a nurse for 16 years; in my expertise, I thought he was dead,” Stateczny said in the release. “He was completely grayish, his lips were blue, and his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. He was not responding at all. He had no pulse.”

The elderly man’s wife, naturally distraught, was moved to the rear of the plane.

Stateczny then requested the pilots land the plane at the next airport available so the man could get the required medical attention.

After getting the automated external defibrillator pads on the man, Stateczny said, he moaned, developed a pulse and started to recover.

They continued with oxygen and kept trying to start an IV.

“He slowly started arousing,” said Statezcny. “It took some time, and he could tell us his name. He started getting some color, and then asked ‘What’s going on?’”

The man thought he had just passed out, according to the release.

The plane diverted to Little Rock, Arkansas, where emergency medical services were waiting to take over patient care.

Aeromedical evacuation squadron members serve in a variety of military occupations, including nurses, medical technicians and administrative specialists. The crews are typically tasked out to help with events like natural disasters, caring for war wounded or routine medical transportation by air.

The crews usually consist of five people — two nurses and three medical technicians — and they carry with them all the necessary equipment to turn any cargo aircraft into a flying ambulance.

Bravo Zulu, AeroMeds. Damn fine job, and the stricken gentleman was very lucky to have chosen this flight.

The article may be viewed Here.

The Air Force Times reports Tech Sgt. Michael Cleary, while home on leave, rushed into multiple burning buildings to awaken residents and usher them out of danger.

While visiting his hometown of Manteca, California, on July 14, he smelled smoke and noticed ash drifting through the air. Shortly afterward, he saw flames coming over some houses, according to an Air Force press release.

The blaze was spreading through the entire neighborhood, engulfing trees and cars. Recognizing the danger to the residential area, he jumped from his vehicle and ran to the scene of the fire.

“My first thought was to see if anyone needed help, so I ran up to the first house. where the tenants were still inside sleeping, woke them up and helped them exit,” Cleary said in the release.

The fire was spreading rapidly, though, and Cleary saw two other homes nearby that were in immediate danger, so he ran to alert those residents as well.

Carin Rhodes, a tenant of one of the properties, heard Cleary shouting just outside, “Hey! Hey! There’s a fire in your backyard!”

“I rushed to a window where I could see that there were three Modesto ash trees on fire,” Rhodes said. “I could feel the searing heat through the window. As I ran to the front door, I could still hear the yelling man alerting my neighbors. I watched this man go from house to house alerting the neighborhood without hesitation. All the while, I was completely amazed at how quickly he reacted to everything and how fluid he was.”

After alerting the neighborhood, Cleary grabbed a water hose and began trying to prevent the spread of flames before the local fire department arrived.

The Air Force said he risked his physical safety and health by exposing himself to the flames and smoke.

“I had a cough for the next two days, but it was all worth it knowing that I played a small part in preventing three families from possibly losing their homes,” Cleary said.

With a half-hour, Cleary and the Manteca Fire Department had not only cleared the residents from the three burning homes but also extinguished the flames.

Cleary credited his Air Force training for helping him respond quickly.

As an aircraft maintenance professional, Cleary is routinely trained in fire safety, especially in fire prevention and how to slow or stop the spread of aircraft-related blazes when they occur.

“That training helped me remain calm throughout the situation,” Cleary said. “The whole process felt instinctual; [I needed] to prevent the spread of fire the best I could.”

Bravo Zulu, Tech Sgt. Michael Cleary, damn well done.