In 2009, high school student Caleb Carr was on a night-training search and rescue mission in the Oregon mountains when a fellow volunteer suffered a cardiac arrest. The medevac helicopter sent to the scene could not land due to the terrain and attempts to lower a rescue basket failed due to high winds. Eventually, the aircraft left the area, and Carr’s fellow volunteer died.
The incident inspired Carr, now CEO of Vita Inclinata and Broomfield, Colorado-based Vita Aerospace, to seek a solution to the problem. But it wasn’t until his business partner and chief technology officer Derek Sikora hit on an idea while staring out an airliner window that the answer became apparent: a lightweight, computer-controlled package of battery-powered ducted fans that attaches to the bottom of a litter and stabilizes the load—called the Vita Rescue System (VRS). The VRS uses high-powered fans to autonomously mitigate litter basket swinging and spinning during hoist operations, accounting for winds, rotor downwash, and environmental conditions. Using VRS can reduce medevac hoisting times from 20 minutes to two, according to the company.
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