Survival Flight Overview

Survival Flight is dedicated to delivering rapid, expert air medical transport and critical care. Explore the sections below to learn more about our services, teams, and commitment to patient care.

Our Services

Survival Flight leases three twin-engine Eurocopter EC-155B1 Helicopters for patient transport within an air mile radius of approximately 350 nautical miles around Ann Arbor. Two helicopters are available 24 hours a day for patient transport and the third is used for organ procurement. Metro Aviation provides aviation services.

  • One Survival Flight EC-155 operates out of the Michigan Medicine Main Medical Campus in Ann Arbor.
  • One Survival Flight EC-155 operates out of the Livingston County Airport.
  • Survival Flight EC-155 helicopters fly at an average speed of 175 miles per hour and serve an air mile radius of approximately 350 nautical miles around Ann Arbor. For destinations beyond this range, fixed-wing transport is used.
  • Survival Flight helicopters are capable of carrying a patient, medical crew, and a full complement of advanced life support equipment. The helicopter is equipped with avionics and advanced communication radios enabling Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flying in inclement weather.
  • Survival Flight helicopters accommodate isolettes with ventilatory and invasive pressure monitoring capabilities for neonates and infants. The isolette is nitric-ready for those patients requiring nitric ventilation for transport.

Survival Flight uses a specialized fixed-wing Lear jet with a medically configured cabin pressurized for transporting patients over longer distances. These aircraft can travel throughout the continental US and Canada. Metro Aviation is solely responsible for control of all flight operations.

  • Survival Flight uses the same crew and sophisticated equipment in the Lear jet as used in the helicopter service. Specialty teams for neonatal, pediatric cardiology and Extracorporeal Life Support (ELS) are available to Survival Flight’s EC-155’s and Lear jet.
  • Survival Flight requires communication specialists to obtain financial information for authorization of fixed-wing transports to U of M Health. For transports not returning to U of M Health a guarantee of payment for the cost of the transport is required.
  • Critically ill or injured patients can be delivered to a hospital selected by the attending physician, patient or family.

In conjunction with Huron Valley Ambulance, Survival Flight has a dedicated ambulance for ground transport of patients who cannot be transported by air. The ambulance can accommodate all equipment found in our helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft.
  • We have a dedicated Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump and Abiomed, providing left and bi-ventricular assistance needs for severely compromised cardiac patients. Our staff has experience transporting patients with a Heartmate and various other ventricular assist devices.
  • When specialized equipment for stabilizing pediatric or spinal cord injury patients is required, it can be added to the helicopter's in-flight intensive care environment.
  • For over 15 years, we have had the capability to transport patients requiring Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS).

Survival Flight Facts
  • University of Michigan utilizes 3 identical Eurocopter EC-155 Helicopters and a Bombardier Lear Jet 75.
  • There are 10 Communication Specialists
  • There are 24 RN's
  • There are 9 full time maintenance technicians with two on call 24 hours/day, plus a logistics specialist.
  • There are 10 helicopter pilots and 8 dedicated fixed wing pilots.
  • Each flight staff member has their own voice activated helmet equipped with Night Vision Goggles
  • Survival Flight travels all over the country by ground, rotor-wing and fixed-wing to pick up and deliver patients to care facilities
  • Survival Flight has used 5 different rotor-wing aircraft over the past 37 years:
    • The first Survival Flight rotor-wing aircraft was a Eurocopter A Star
    • The second rotor-wing aircraft was a Twinstar
    • The third was a Bell 230
    • The fourth was a Bell 430
    • The fifth and currently used aircraft is a Eurocopter EC-155
    • If there is a 6th generation rotorcraft fleet at UofM, what will it be?
  • Eurocopter, a European rotorcraft manufacturing conglomerate, was acquired by aerospace manufacturing conglomerate AirBus became known as AirBus Helicopters in 2014.
  • Survival Flight helicopters travel 350 miles around Ann Arbor and even to the U.P.
  • The EC-155 has a maximum gross Wt. of 10,846 lbs. and can carry 338 gallons of Jet Fuel. The aircraft will consume 110 gallons of fuel, per hour.
  • The main rotor blades spin 342 rotations per minute and the tail rotor spins 3575 rotations, per minute.
  • 175 knots is the maximum airspeed for the EC-155. 175 knots equals 210 Miles per hour.
  • The normal curse speed for the EC-155 is 150 knots, or 172 miles per hour.
  • The EC-155 has a range of 350 nautical miles with a 30 minute fuel reserve.
  • A knot is equal to 6076 feet per hour
  • A nautical mile is equal to 1.15 miles
  • 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour = 6076 feet per hour
  • 1 mph = 1 mile per hour = 5280 feet per hour
  • 1 mile per hour is the same as 5280 feet per hour
  • The EC-155 on takeoff produces 1868 hp
    • 1 of its 2 engines can produce as much as 1060 hp
  • Survival Flight has flown 5.7 million miles over the past 37 years.
  • Distance to moon from earth approx. 24 times.
  • Circumference of earth approx. 230 times.
  • Survival Flight flies approximately 150,000 miles per year.
  • The Lear Jet is crewed by two Airline Transport Pilots every flight.
  • The Lear Jet can fly to a height of 51,000 feet
  • The Lear Jet can fly over 535 miles per hour (0.81 Mach).
  • The Communication Specialists monitor 7 radios, 9 phone lines, and have taken over 200,000 aircraft position reports
  • Survival Flight tracks all aircraft using satellites. Updated positions are sent every 30 seconds.
  • There are 236 airports in Michigan
  • There are 83 counties in Michigan
  • In the first year of operation Survival Flight visited 53 counties in Michigan
  • The Transplant Team uses the helicopter to obtain and transplant various organs
  • The isolette for neonates weights 192 lbs.
  • Everything on the aircraft is weighted and the aircrafts current weight and balance is calculated for each leg of each flight.
  • Survival Flight has been the original Flight service in Michigan since 1983
  • The average number Survival Flight and other flight program patient transport helicopter landings at Michigan Medicine is 356 per year.

Aviation Services provided by Metro Aviation, Metro Aviation is responsible for Operational Control of all flight operations and staffing of flight crew and maintenance technicians.

Support Lifesaving Missions

Your donation to Survival Flight helps provide critical air medical transport and advanced care to patients in urgent need across Michigan and beyond. With your support, our expert teams can respond quickly, save lives, and continue to set the standard for emergency medical services. Join us in making a life-changing difference—every gift truly matters.

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