Whether a hoist rescue in the mountains, densely populated areas or over water, the DRF Group possesses decades of experience in this field and is committed to its ongoing development and quality assurance in it. DRF Luftrettung’s Nuremberg base has housed a helicopter with a hoist for over 20 years now. H145s with a hoist are also deployed from Bautzen (since early 2019), Freiburg (since late 2019), Berlin-Buch (since January 2025) and Dortmund.
ARA Flugrettung, which is part of the DRF Group, has deployed rescue helicopters with hoists from its HEMS bases in Reutte and Fresach, Austria, for more than 15 years. These hoists are essential for rescue missions on Alpine terrain. Another base with a hoist is located in Balzers (Liechtenstein), run by AAA. Hoists also feature among the equipment at offshore bases in Sankt Peter Ording, Norddeich and Güttin, operated by Northern Helicopter, which are part of the DRF Luftrettung Group and ensure emergency medical care for wind turbines in the North and Baltic Seas.
Using a helicopter with a hoist makes good sense when ground-based rescue either is impossible or can only be done with significant time delays and heavy risk. For example, this is the case when a ground-based rescue service cannot get to a patient fast enough by vehicle or on foot due to the geographical conditions. Rescue hoists are also used if there is no appropriate place to land an aircraft near the mission destination and the hoist is the fastest way to get the emergency doctor to the patient. In many cases, using a hoist is the gentlest way to rescue accident victims. Terrain can often be steep, impassable or marshy, or difficult to reach because of heavy snow.
Using a rescue hoist requires an obstacle-free vertical corridor of at least 3 by 3 metres. Examples of missions in populated areas include accidents on the roofs of tall buildings or on chimneys, towers, radio masts or cranes. Special equipment is kept on board hoist helicopters (a belt, rescue stretcher, strop and rescue sling). The crew for a hoist rescue usually includes a pilot, hoist operator/paramedic and emergency doctor as well as a mountain/high-altitude rescuer (or a ‘helicopter rescue specialist’) who is brought on board additionally.
DRF Luftrettung is a member of Bavaria’s specialist advisory panel for mountain air rescue, the standardization group for mountain air rescue and the mountain air rescue simulation system (ZSA) in Bad Tölz. DRF Luftrettung and ARA Flugrettung are also members of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR), which has a goal of continuously advancing Alpine rescue and safety.
DRF Luftrettung is also intensively involved in official cooperation with the ESPN-R (European Safety Promotion Network Rotorcraft) initiated by the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). Within this framework, it actively contributes to the publication of safety standards. In particular, it was involved in the development of technical recommendations for standardizing the training of hoist pilots and hoist operators and in defining the equipment required for hoist operation.
DRF Luftrettung is committed to improving safety in hoist operations at a European level: The ‘International HHO Symposium’, which DRF Luftrettung initiated in 2021, is a platform to exchange information on new developments, rescue tips and techniques as well as safety issues in hoist operations. The symposium for hoist operators and manufacturers from all over the world has been held annually at the DRF Luftrettung Operation Centre at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport since 2021.