SOS Helicopter Gotland AB, an EMS operator based on the Swedish island of Gotland, is the first Scandinavian operator to have ordered an EC145. The contract was signed February 1 and delivery will occur in October.

Sweden has used rescue helicopters and air ambulance services for over half a century, and EMS services on the island of Gotland were launched in 1972.

Flying out of Visby, the island’s capital, almost 300 transport missions are flown each year to and from the specialist hospitals on the mainland, as well as providing EMS services in the rural areas of

the island.

SOS Helicopter Gotland also provides incubator transports and critical intensive care missions.

The single-pilot IFR certificated EC145 features a night-vision goggle compatible, digital glass cockpit with multifunction displays, to reduce the pilot’s workload and to assist day-and-night operations.