LifeFlight of Maine operates three twin-engine Agusta helicopters. Two are 109E models purchased new in January 2005, and the third is a 109SP purchased new in May 2017. These helicopters travel at an average speed of 165 mph, making the trip from Bangor to Caribou in less than an hour.
LifeFlight operates three bases: Bangor (Eastern Maine Medical Center and Bangor International Airport), Lewiston (Central Maine Medical Center and Auburn-Lewiston Airport), and Sanford (Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport).
The helicopters are configured to accommodate 3 crew members and 1 patient. The Bangor-based helicopter also has an additional fuel tank to accommodate longer trips from Fort Kent to Boston.
LifeFlight's helicopters are operated and maintained by
SevenBar Aviation, one of the nation's premier air medical transportation operators, which provides twelve full time professional pilots and seven full time professional mechanics. With the helicopters' advanced avionics and performance capabilities, LifeFlight can operate in full IFR (instrument flight rules), which means pilots can safely fly in a wider range of visibility conditions, decreasing the number of times the helicopter is grounded due to weather.
Our personnel qualifications and operational practices, including weather flight minimums, far exceed the standards required by the Federal Aviation Administration. In 2003, LifeFlight of Maine became the only ambulance service in the state--ground or air--to receive full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.