CUMBERLAND — Maryland State Police Trooper 5 helicopter, based at the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport, recorded its busiest year in 2023, completing 150 medevacs, 37 search and rescue missions, nine aerial rescues and 16 law enforcement missions.
In 2023, the State Police Aviation Command became the first agency in the country to carry and provide whole blood throughout an entire state, not just to a local jurisdiction or region, marking this as a monumental and pivotal moment. On June 20, 2023, Trooper 5 received its first two units of O+ whole blood.
Since the implication of the blood program, state police trooper/paramedics have administered 97 units of blood to 79 patients. Administering whole blood products to patients in the field is a safe and effective way to restore oxygen carrying capabilities to vital organs, resulting in the multisystem trauma or medical patients enough time to receive surgical interventions. The availability of prehospital whole blood has proven to be instrumental, with the ability to save countless lives.
It was on March 19, 1970, at 11:20 a.m. that Maryland State Police Helicopter 108 crewed by pilot/Cpl. Gary Moore and Trooper First Class/Medic Paul Benson departed Martin State Airport to receive a patient at the scene of a crash on the Baltimore Beltway and Falls Road.
Maneuvering the turbine-powered Bell Jet Ranger helicopter with precision and ease, the two successfully completed the first civilian medevac to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. That day marked the beginning of an era for the residents and visitors of Maryland and surrounding jurisdictions, highlighting the formal expansion of the Maryland State Police into the world of airborne emergency medical services.
Since that first flight 54 years ago, the men and women of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command have fully embraced the capabilities of the aircraft and the command’s current mission profile, having completed more than 180,000 missions and successfully transported over 150,000 patients.
The state police replaced its fleet of Jet Rangers in the late 1980s, procuring the AS365 Dauphin helicopter — with its distinctive tail rotor whine — the aircraft could be heard coming from miles away, assuring those in need help would soon be arriving.
Today, the Maryland State Police Aviation Command operates a fleet of 10 AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters, assigned to seven sections located throughout parts of Maryland. With the expansion into the AW 139 airframe, the crew size also doubled to two pilots and two trooper/flight paramedics from the original configuration of a single pilot and trooper/flight paramedic.
Trooper 5 was commissioned into service in July 1982, primarily serving Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties in Maryland as well as several counties in West Virginia and the southwestern counties of Pennsylvania.
Trooper 5’s Cumberland region is one of the most challenging sections for pilots and crews. The rugged terrain accompanied by the rapidly changing weather, often with limited weather reporting, challenges even the most highly qualified and competent crews.
The state police Aviation Command’s multifaceted mission set includes medevacs, law enforcement and homeland security support, search and rescue, aerial rescues and disaster assessments.