Three medical helicopter evacuations in Penghu in a single day highlight the need for backup aircraft

2026/10/06 09:43

Penghu-based medical helicopters conducted three evacuations in a single day, once again highlighting the importance of backup aircraft. (Provided by Lingtian Airlines)

[Reporter Liu Yuqing/Penghu Report] Lingtian Airlines, the medical helicopter stationed in Penghu County, carried out three aerial medical evacuation missions yesterday (5th). In the first one at 3 a.m., a 70-year-old woman from the Penghu No. 3 General Office died due to He suffered a subdural hematoma and needed to be rushed to Kaohsiung Rongzhong for follow-up treatment. However, due to the night construction at Kaohsiung Airport, it was unable to take off and land. Lingtian Airlines landed at Tainan Airport at 4:10 in the morning and was transferred to Kaohsiung Rongzong by ambulance.

The second case was at around 2 p.m., when a 70-year-old woman from the Penghu No. 3 General Administration was rushed to Kaohsiung Medical College for treatment due to acute leukemia. At about 4 p.m., when the team members were transporting the patient to the hospital and preparing to return home, they received an order from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Air Clearance Center again. The third mission in a single day was that a 35-year-old man from the Penghu No. 3 General Assembly was rushed to the China Medical University Hospital in Taichung for treatment due to lupus erythematosus and low platelets. Lintian Airlines landed in Penghu at about 5 p.m. for preparations and sent medical staff to Penghu No. 3 General Hospital to pick up the patients. The aircraft took off again at about 6 p.m. and took the patients to the Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in Taichung.

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On the evening of September 25 last month, two patients applied for medical evacuation at the same time. The two medical evacuation applications overlapped in a single day. This was the second time the same situation occurred in 10 days. However, this time because of the medical staff of Lingtian Airlines, the patients were successfully sent to the hospital for return flight. It was the same time as the air crew flew from the main island of Taiwan to Penghu. According to the dispatch order of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Lingtian Airlines was still dispatched first.

Since County Magistrate Chen Guangfu accidentally fell during New Year greetings at the beginning of this year and was sent to the main island of Taiwan for treatment, the issue of reactivating the apron on the roof of the Kaorong Building has arisen. In July, an incident occurred again where the air crew refused to fly away from the island at night due to a temporary malfunction of the station aircraft before takeoff. The head of the Penghu County Council led the team to Matsu to participate in this year's Islands Games, and Jinma and Peng reached a consensus to obtain a second backup aircraft.