Rio Tinto Life Flight wings into Western Australian skies

21 October 2009

The Rio Tinto Life Flight jet was officially unveiled to the Western Australian community with three events taking place in October.

In partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Rio Tinto Life Flight jet is the only aeromedical jet able to transport three stretcher patients at once, and is the first jet to join the Flying Doctor fleet.

After the unveiling of the jet at Jandakot, it took flight for communities in the North West dropping in at Kununurra, Broome, Derby, Port Hedland, Meekatharra and Karratha.

Over 200 people crammed into the Police Airwing Hangar at Karratha airport to hear first hand from Flying Doctor staff the value of the jet to regional communities.  

Rio Tinto Housing and Town Services employee Adam Trinder presented the Royal Flying Doctor Service with a donation of $2,000 raised from the auction of second hand furniture at Pannawonica.  Guests at the event filled the donation tins with over $480 in coins and notes.

Rio Tinto employees and family members worked feverishly over the BBQ to serve up a delicious breakfast, while guests shared personal stories of how their lives have been touched by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

In Kununurra a small, enthusiastic crowd gathered to welcome the Rio Tinto Life Flight jet.  A team from Argyle Diamonds, led by members of the Emergency Response team, cooked a great BBQ to raise funds for the RFDS. The previous night Argyle chief operations officer Kevin McLeish joined the Flying 1000 Club for a function raising funds for the medical fit out of the jet.

Rio Tinto’s chief executive Iron Ore, Sam Walsh commented: “In an emergency, every second counts. This jet will halve the travel time from the Kimberly to Perth to under three hours, and we are really proud to support a service which makes regional Western Australians safer.”

The Rio Tinto Life Flight jet is expected to transfer up to 500 patients in its first year of operation. There are about 1,000 patient transfers from the Kimberley each year and demand for the RFDS has grown by 35 per cent from the Pilbara and Kimberley.