MD Police Helicopter Flights from Clear Spring

[Anonymous]

This is purely out of curiosity, but I figure I might as well ask it in case someone here knows the answer.

When I see a low-flying helicopter or plane, I'll sometimes look it up in FlightRadar/FlightAware. I've noticed several flights from the Maryland State Police helicopter starting at its base in Frederick, going over to land in Clear Spring, MD (near the high school), and then going to hospitals in DC.

I know the MD state police does medevacs, so that part isn't surprising. But the Clear Spring location is a little surprising. Is that just an established location for medevacs to intercept ground ambulances en route?

That would make sense, but then I'm surprised I've never noticed any other regular pick-up locations. I guess if things happen closer to Frederick the ambulances probably go straight to the Frederick airport (if the patient can't just go to the Frederick hospital) to meet the helicopter at its base. And maybe there are other similar locations further east and west, but I don't notice them because different state police bases typically cover them.

Anyone know what's going on?

[Anonymous]

MD State Police base choppers all over the state, ideally there’s a chopper within 20 min of any potential patient, anywhere in the state.

Sometimes local EMS will take patients from crash/fire/injury locations by ambulance to meet the chopper, and fly them to a trauma center from there. The reason for this is the new choppers that compose the fleet are significantly larger than the older S-365’s they replaced, so landing zones are harder to coordinate with the bigger aircraft. So EMS does more ground transports TO the chopper now, than they did in the old days where the chopper was able to land in more places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MD State Police base choppers all over the state, ideally there’s a chopper within 20 min of any potential patient, anywhere in the state.

Sometimes local EMS will take patients from crash/fire/injury locations by ambulance to meet the chopper, and fly them to a trauma center from there. The reason for this is the new choppers that compose the fleet are significantly larger than the older S-365’s they replaced, so landing zones are harder to coordinate with the bigger aircraft. So EMS does more ground transports TO the chopper now, than they did in the old days where the chopper was able to land in more places.

That makes sense. So, there are presumably other sites in Maryland like the one in Clear Spring where ground ambulances regularly meet the helicopters for transport?

I sort of expected they'd try to go to actual helipads, like the ones at hospitals, but I underestimated how far Clear Spring is from Meritus.

[Anonymous]

I spend a lot of time at Frederick airport where Trooper 3 helicopter is based, and another medivac helicopter. I've never seen an ambulance meet the chopper at the airport which is only about 2 miles from the Frederick hospital. The chopper are there to fly out to the scene of the crash or patient in a lot of cases, or hospital to hospital transport. For example, transporting a patient from Frederick hospital to a Baltimore hospital that specializes in the care that is needed.

[Anonymous]

We must continue to defund the police!

That will surely stop these flights. Vote Harris!!