SCOTLAND, MD – A Maryland State Police (MSP) helicopter was called to help a woman injured aboard a cruise ship Sunday night, April 16, 2023in the Chesapeake Bay, approximately seven miles east of Point Lookout.
Trooper 7 crews, from the Southern Maryland Section, responded to cruise ship underway near the Maryland-Virginia line shortly after 10 p.m. The U.S. Coast Guard – Sector Baltimore called the MSP Aviation Command requesting the medevac for an injured subject aboard the 960-foot Carnival Legend. The cruise ship, which departed Baltimore around 5:40 p.m., was en route to Nassau in the Bahamas when the 68-year-old woman suffered injuries from a fall.
Upon reaching the cruise ship, the pilots maneuvered the Leonardo AW-139 helicopter into position and deployed a Trooper/Paramedic to the deck of the moving ship to perform a patient assessment. The Trooper/Paramedic secured the woman in a Patient Extrication Platform, commonly called a “PEP bag.” The patient, with the Trooper/Paramedic, was then hoisted approximately 50 feet from deck of the ship into the aircraft. Trooper 7 transitioned into a medevac role and flew the patient to the University of Maryland Capital Regional Medical Center in Largo in Prince George’s County for additional evaluation and treatment.
The Maryland State Police Aviation Command has served Maryland citizens since 1970 and operates a fleet of 10 Leonardo AW-139 helicopters from seven bases throughout the state. Each aircraft provides coverage 24/7/365 to Maryland residents and visitors. The MSPAC missions include medevac, law enforcement, search and rescue, homeland security, and disaster assessment. The success of the missions relies heavily on the cooperative efforts of local fire, rescue, EMS, law enforcement agencies, and our partners at the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Park Police.
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