Principles of Immediate Disaster Management in Aeroplane Disasters Outside Airports

Abstract

The speedy development of disaster medicine has made intensive care on accident sites possible for everyday use. This prehospital care Has proved to be an indispensable, life-preserving work. It does, however, require having qualified medical and technical help brought to the site of disasters in reasonable time, and the ability to bring patients back in properly equipped units, supervised by paramedic staff, to ready and well run hospitals which are able to carry on the treatment and secure the results already obtained.Rescue work associated with air crashes must be of high interest to all nations, as air traffic is global and a European traveller may easily get into trouble in a wilderness in another part of the world. Through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) membership, nations are bound by means of international regulations, to contribute to security in the air and supervision of planes in their own area, and to co-operate with the FIR-system in adjoining areas. This system contributes to a better chance of detection of an aeroplane in difficulties, but the rescue problem will have to be solved by the existing and available national military and civil rescue service, its organization, material, education, medical preparedness and disaster plans.Statistics reveals that about 50% of all crashes take place in landing procedures, some of them occurring just outside the airport. To these must be added collisions en route and cases of sabotage. Most crashes at take-off happen so near the airport that there will be no problems of detection, and help in fire-fighting will be available from the airport, if necessary.