title: Safety in alpine helicopter rescue operations--minimal requirements of alpine skills for rescue personnel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a lack of data to establish minimal requirements for technical alpine climbing skills needed by rescue teams involved in alpine helicopter rescue operations to perform such operations safely.
  
  
  METHODS
  A year of rescue operations (N = 2731) were investigated for the technical difficulties of the terrain. The difficulties were graded according to the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) scale for rocky terrain and steepness for ice slopes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For 99.7% of the operations, the terrain could be accurately evaluated. In at least 30.7% of all rescue operations, personal advanced alpine climbing skills were required for the rescue personnel, and in 6.0%, the difficulties of the rocky terrain correspond to UIAA scale grade III with another 2.4% to UIAA grade IV or above. About 1.5% of all operations took place in ice faces steeper than 50°.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To be able to manage 90% of all operations safely, all crew members, except the pilot, must be competent at climbing rock terrain of UIAA scale grade IV and ice of 50° steepness using appropriate rescue, rope, and belaying techniques. These recommendations include a technical safety margin for adverse conditions, such as bad weather.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany;
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Küpper
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hillebrandt
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steffgen
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schöffl
mesh_terms: D017732:Air Ambulances; D001317:Austria; D006801:Humans; D009051:Mountaineering / Q000193:education; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012449:Safety / Q000592:standards*; D013557:Switzerland
keywords: alpine rescue; helicopter; high altitude; minimal requirements; safety; training