Paramedics Test Emergency Jet Packs For Places Helicopters Can't Reach

It could be the future of remote medicine; a paramedic with a jet pack reaching places helicopters can’t, helping critically ill patients much quicker.

Tuesday, September 29th 2020, 12:30 pm

By: CBS News


It could be the future of remote medicine; a paramedic with a jet pack reaching places helicopters can’t, helping critically ill patients much quicker.

England's Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is hoping to launch the first jet suit paramedic.

Andy Mawson is with GNAAS.

"Nobody in the world would expect that as an air ambulance we could get to someone in a jet suit in a matter of minutes and get them some pain relief, or ultimately in the worst cases, save their life," he said.

On a test flight in northwest England, the jet pack navigated rocky hillsides in just 90 seconds, a journey officials say would take 25 minutes on foot. The suit is covered in five mini jet engines, and can travel at 32 miles per hour.

"We're not talking about big distances, but were talking about steep gradients, and that's the difference," Mawson said.

The designer, Gravity Industries, is in talks with paramedics to make modifications to the suit.

They're hoping to reach their first patients by jet pack next summer.

The jet pack would be armed with a first aid kit, strong pain relievers, and a defibrillator.

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