John Scanlon, EraMED Pilot, Lewiston

John Scanlon grew up in Winchester, MA and earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Boston University. He had not given much thought to flying as a career until he took a helicopter flight through the White Mountains. It was then he decided to become a pilot.

John enjoyed living and working in Portsmouth, NH for 11 years, where his flying jobs involving traffic reporting, instructing, sight seeing and photography took him toward Boston. But he much preferred to settle in the other direction. Emergency medical services appealed to him because it wasn’t routine and the work could make such a difference in peoples’ lives.

After spending 18 months at a small EMS operator in Syracuse, NY, John took an opening at LifeFlight of Maine in 2000. Since moving to Maine, John plans his non-work time around his family and his interests in hiking, backcountry skiing and kayaking. One of the benefits of flying in Maine, he says, is being able to scout places that he otherwise wouldn’t see.

John lives in Woolwich with his longtime companion, Sarah, and their young son, Liam.