Median Income

• MedEvac helicopter pilots are commercial pilots. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, commercial pilots earned a median annual income of $67,500 as of May 2010. This median fell within a range of $34,860 on the low end, and $119,650 on the high. The top-paying metropolitan area for commercial pilots was Springfield, Massachusetts, with an annual mean wage of $129,860 for this occupation; the top-paying nonmetropolitan area was the Hawaiian Islands, with an annual mean wage of $97,570.
  
  

Duties

• MedEvac helicopter pilots do not provide medical care or involve themselves with patient treatment in the back of the aircraft. Their sole responsibility is to transport patient and crew safely to a medical facility. Their duties include obtaining detailed weather reports, planning flight paths, coordinating with other flight traffic and checking engines, instruments and controls before the flight to make sure all systems function properly. Because helicopter pilots fly at low altitudes, they must be on constant alert for power lines, trees, bridges and transmission towers, in addition to changing weather conditions.
  
  

Credentials and Licensing

• MedEvac helicopter pilots must first obtain their rotorcraft helicopter commercial pilot's license. This licensure requires dual instruction with a certified flight instructor for 20 hours of flight time, 10 hours of solo flight time and 100 hours of Pilot-in Command, PIC, flight time, where liability and obligation for a safe flight rests entirely with the student. Pilots must pass a written exam by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, as well as an oral and practical flight exam conducted by an FAA examiner.