DRF Luftrettung, January 04, 2021 - On April 1, 1991, Christoph München was put into service as the first official intensive care transport helicopter (ITH) in Germany.
It was the starting signal for the successful development of airborne patient transport under intensive care conditions and made a significant contribution to its importance today.
The station has also provided important impetus for flight operations over the past 30 years. In Munich, for example, the helicopter type H145 and nationwide night vision devices were used for the first time in civil air rescue.
In the middle of the meadow, not far from the station building, a small, gray tin box bears witness to the beginnings of Christoph Munich.
A socket is hidden underneath, which in retrospect can be described as the first construction phase of the air rescue site. “We could use it to charge the medical equipment and also to heat the helicopter cabin in winter. That was a big deal for us back then,” remembers Hans Haslberger, who was a pilot in Munich from the start and is still on duty regularly today.
"Other than that, there wasn't even a hangar, the helicopter had to be parked outdoors in all weathers." Haslberger remembers that working at the beginning wasn't always easy. However , our commitment has always remained unbrokenand we have continuously developed the station. So in 2006 we were able to put a new hangar into operation and in 2011 the newly built service building. Since then we have had optimal working conditions.”
Today, the Munich air rescuers are alerted around 1,200 times a year and have become an indispensable part of the medical care of people in the region and throughout Bavaria. Right from the start, Christoph München also started working at night and has been on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year ever since.
"In particular, the intensive care transport helicopters have made a significant contribution to the expansion and acceptance of night flights . Today, night flying is an important part of our life-saving work," says Dr. Peter Huber, board member of the DRF Luftrettung.
Decisive impetus for air rescue has repeatedly come from the Munich location over the years. There was a special feature right from the start of service in 1991: the helicopter was the first intensive care transport helicopter in Germany .
The concept was developed in cooperation with doctors from the Großhadern Clinic and the Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB). "Two strong partners with whom we still work very successfully in Munich today," says Dr. Huber. The emergency doctors on Christoph Munich are still provided by the Munich University Hospital (Großhadern campus) and the emergency paramedics by the ASB regional association Munich/Upper Bavaria.
In 2003, the Munich air rescue service was the first DRF Luftrettung station to put the new EC145 into service, replacing the previously used Bell 412.
The next milestone followed in 2009: Munich was the first civilian air rescue station in Germany to use night vision devices , which brought a further increase in safety during night operations. The goggles attached to the pilot's helmet intensify the residual light that is present at night and thus offer the pilot better visual orientation in the dark .
In 2015, Munich was once again a pioneer for many other DRF Luftrettung stations: They were the first civil air rescue services in the world to put the newly developed H145 into service, which is still the most modern helicopter used in air rescue today. The new interior concept, co-developed by the DRF Luftrettung, offers the optimal conditions in the cabin for the mission profile flown in Munich, patient transport between clinics.
In 2009 Munich was the first German civilian air ambulance base to use NVG for night operations
Christoph München EC145T2 / H145