The launch of a north Queensland emergency rescue jet base has been delayed - after the jet detoured to pick up an Australian who fell 20 metres off a Papua New Guinea cliff.
CareFlight Queensland CEO Ash van de Velde said the Learjet was due to fly to Townsville on Tuesday morning, but the crew changed course to retrieve the seriously injured man who suffered spinal and head injuries when he fell off a cliff at Goroka in the eastern highlands of PNG.
The jet will now touch down at its new base on Tuesday afternoon with the injured holiday maker, officially launching the service's new Townsville operation.
"The patient was apparently climbing a mountain when he fell 20 metres landing on his back, he'll be treated at Townsville Hospital's Neurosurgical Unit," van de Velde said.
He said the jet would be permanently based in Townsville, while the organisation's new Lear 45XR jet would take over at Gold Coast International Airport.
"We've been performing jet retrievals from our Gold Coast hangar for many years, but as international job numbers continued to increase we needed to expand further north to better service our patients, and identified Townsville as the best location," Mr van de Velde said.
The medically configured Lear 36A jet will be on constant standby at CareFlight's Townsville International Airport hangar, ideally located to service Port Moresby, the Pacific and Asia.
Flights can be airborne within 90 minutes and all carry a critical care doctor and nurse.
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