Rotorcraft
South Africa's 'Rocket' Air Ambulance Service Takes Off
Rocket using Bell 222s to provide first-world air ambulance service in South Africa
Rocket CEO Boeta Dippenaar poses with "Rocket 1," an aero-medical equipped Bell 222UT, one of five of the type operated by the company.
Rocket CEO Boeta Dippenaar poses with "Rocket 1," an aero-medical equipped Bell 222UT, one of five of the type operated by the company.

Helicopter EMS (HEMS) firm Rocket is celebrating its first year of service in the South Africa air ambulance market. The company acronym stands for “rapid on-call emergency transport.”

A division of Henley Air, Rocket operates a mixed fleet of five Bell 222s and plans to add three Bell 230s in the coming months. Operating with a staff of 25, Rocket transported 300 patients during its recently concluded first year of service, dispatching from bases in Johannesburg and Kimberley. The two bases can cover roughly one-third of the country.  Rocket is one of five HEMS/air ambulance firms currently operating in the country—the others are Netcare 911, HALO, Red Cross AMS, Black Eagle Aviation—and the entire venture is privately funded by two shareholders. 

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