O/T Incident Trent Enbankment/Meadows area

[cher1]

The starred out word was 'v i t a l' !!

[Masson4]

'Self inflicted' - now there's a bloody big can of worms for you.

As a psychologist working with people with addictions and hopefully saving a life or two along the way, I'm not even going to dignify that assertion with an answer.

[jackal2]

'Self inflicted' - now there's a bloody big can of worms for you.

As a psychologist working with people with addictions and hopefully saving a life or two along the way, I'm not even going to dignify that assertion with an answer.

To be fair to TheBlackHorse, I don't think the "self-inflicted" argument is that exceptional. There are plenty of folk these days who think the debate around addiction and misadventure has swung a little too far towards portraying the individuals concerned as victims, and a little too far away from emphasising personal responsibility and discipline.

I can genuinely see both arguments. Just in my own circles I've seen instances where people have got themselves into difficulties without seeing it coming for various reasons and desperately want and need help to get out. On the flip side, I've also seen people who have realised that portraying themselves as victims and/or adopting a confessional approach can be a way of avoiding or delaying taking the personal responsibility and tough decisions needed to get themselves out of the situation they're in, whether those problems were originally 'self-inflicted' or not.

Given your professional expertise, it probably is worth dignifying the can of worms with an answer. Not everybody will have your insight.

[Bohinen]

There are some unusual characters on this site.

A few days ago it was the man who communicates with strangers on a train by kicking them in the shins, now it's the man whose first thought upon learning of a death in the Trent is the Home Office petrol tab.

Takes all sorts I suppose.

And the petrol tab is all it is.

I often see people quoted saying putting the police helicopter in the sky costs x pounds per hour, some vast amount, but that sum is arrived at by dividing total cost of the service by the hours in the air. If it flew less, the cost per hour would be more.

There is no point in having services if they don't get used. It could be you next.

[sidders]

... even with the benefit of hindsight, looked like resource overload. You don't need the heli-med for a two mile journey to the QMC - it can't even land there; or three fire appliances. My grouse is that resources are diverted away from cases of genuine need by those who self inflict. Some moan about the NHS, but how often do you see two ambulances (sometimes more) at one shout ... and before anyone picks me up on that, due to an illness with my wife, we had three ambulances show (and nowhere near a town). That's all ...

Well spotted. Let's divert the money into Prince Andrew's purse instead, eh?

[jackal2]

Well spotted. Let's divert the money into Prince Andrew's purse instead, eh?

I'd rather not. Now there's a can of worms!

[tarquinbeech]

And the petrol tab is all it is.

I often see people quoted saying putting the police helicopter in the sky costs x pounds per hour, some vast amount, but that sum is arrived at by dividing total cost of the service by the hours in the air. If it flew less, the cost per hour would be more.

There is no point in having services if they don't get used. It could be you next.

I would guess that the cost of putting a copter in the sky is dramatically different from having it sat in a hangar. The petrol cost is the obvious one, but pilots also get "standby wages" and "flight time wages", and I assume the difference ain't peanuts....then you have flight clearance, tracking and backup staff, insurance etc......here is a job description for a copter pilot that anyone can find online

Requirements:

Commercial pilot certificate, rotorcraft helicopter
Class 2 or 1 medical
Minimum of 500 hours PIC helicopter
Minimum of 100 hours make and model
Good hovering skills in all conditions, including winds exceeding 15 knots.
Suitable, reliable helicopter (R44 preferred), with at least 50 hours until major maintenance required. (Leased aircraft is okay, but we will not lease the aircraft for you.)
$1 million (minimum) liability insurance
Reliable cell phone with in-aircraft communication capability.
Ground transportation in Wenatchee area a plus. (We cannot provide transportation.)
This job requires a commitment to live in the area for the entire length of the contract. (Low-cost motel housing is available.) Pilot is on call during all daylight hours and may be called to fly before dawn. There are no days off during the contract. We expect the contract to begin in mid June and run into mid to late July or early August.

Pilot responsible for monitoring the weather in the coverage area to know possibility of rain at all times. Pilot must be airborne within 15 minutes of receiving a call to fly. Pilot must fly until job is done to client’s satisfaction. Night flying will not be required.

Compensation consists of daily standby fee plus hourly fee for flight time. Pay is negotiable based on helicopter model and pilot experience. We do not directly pay any expenses; all expenses must be covered by pilot. We do not pay ferry costs to get your helicopter from your base to Wenatchee and back. All expenses should be covered by standby amounts.

This is not a time building job. Expect to fly between 0 and 40 hours during this period.

We will provide training in your aircraft. (We do not pay for training flights.)

If you are interested in this position, please give us a call in March or early April at 509/699-8044. Please do not call unless you meet all of the above requirements.

If you cannot bring a helicopter, do not call. We are not hiring pilots without helicopters.

Please note that we deal directly with pilot owners. We are not interested in dealing with middle men. If you or one of your employees will not be flying your helicopter, please do not call.

Charter/Tour Pilots
Flying M Air is a single-pilot Part 135 operation. We are not hiring charter or tour pilots and do not foresee a need to in the future.

[cher1]

Eh? That's an advert for pilots with their own helicopters. I don't think air ambulances work quite like that. Air ambulance pilots are salaried.

[tarquinbeech]

Eh? That's an advert for pilots with their own helicopters. I don't think air ambulances work quite like that. Air ambulance pilots are salaried.

I assume these guys don't have their own copters...taken from the aptly named HELICOPTERSALARIES.COM.....9-hour shifts (includes 1 hour for lunch, subject to recall).
On call every other weekend.
Starting salary = $60,000.
401K after 1 year. Company matches 50% up to 6%. Updated 2/15/2008
Medical - company pays 2/3 of the premium and employee pays 1/3 regardless of coverage.
Vacation - 6 days prorated in the first calendar year and 6 days for the first full calendar year. 11 days in the second full calendar. 16 days in the 10th calendar year.
Working after a day shift: $100 plus $50 per flight hour.
Working an off weekend:
Paid $100 per day for standby.
If called in for story, paid an additional $100 plus $50 per flight hour.

http://www.helicoptersalaries.com/Ho...6/Default.aspx

[crazyfists]

Only on mad do you see someone getting angry at the resources spent in an incident where someone died. ****ing clown.