Article Says A380 Will Need Medics Onboard

[N1Medic 69]

Super jumbo jets 'will need full-time medics onboard'  Email this article

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The next generation of super jumbo jets will need a full-time medic on board, the Royal College of Nurses said today.

Rita Mody, a committee member of the college's In-flight Nurses Association, said the move is needed to make sure people who fall ill can get care immediately.

Statistics show that one in 1400 passengers have an onboard medical emergency and eight per cent of those incidents result in an unscheduled landing. Ms Mody said the high numbers of passengers that can be carried on Airbus A380s will lead to a "high probability that someone will fall ill".

The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger plane and can carry as many as 840 people.

Virgin Atlantic, which is putting the A380 into service in 2009, said its staff had extensive medical training. A spokeswoman said the airline planned to board no more than 550 passengers.

[Guest paramedico987]

Working for a major airline, flying all over the place for free, good pay, good benefits, and all the airline peanuts I can eat....

SIGN ME UP!

[Porsha911gt3 8]

and all the airline peanuts I can eat.

I Thought they discontinued the air line peanuts in all of their budget cuts. Ur gonna have to bring your own lunch

[Guest paramedico987]

"d'oh! I wanted a peanut." -H.S.

[Guest]

Volunteers injured in A380 drill

BBC News

Sunday, 26 March 2006, 17:16 GMT 18:16 UK

One man broke his leg and another 32 people suffered minor injuries during an emergency evacuation drill of the new A380 superjumbo in Germany.

Plane owner Airbus said the exercise - a key step which the A380 must take to prove its airworthiness - was a "great success" despite the injuries.

About 850 passengers were successfully evacuated from the plane in 80 seconds.

European and US regulators will reveal on Monday whether the drill met their safety requirements.

Key milestone

The drill is a key milestone on the road to certifying the plane for public use - which Airbus hopes to do by the end of 2006.

It has so far sold 159 A380s to 16 airlines, with the first due to go into service next year.

The drill took place in an aircraft hangar in Hamburg, the site of one the company's largest factories.

There was huge interest in the exercise and Airbus was inundated with volunteers wanting to take part, most from the local area.

This was despite the fact that none of the participants were paid and previous evacuation drills of civilian aircraft have resulted in serious injuries to volunteers.

Edited March 26, 2006 by hoss