NelspruitThe Life of Flying | Clayton Maggs – Nelspruit https://showme.co.za/nelspruit Nelspruit, South Africa for all your local and tourism information; from accommodation to events, entertainment, attractions and news - ShowMe Nelspruit | T Feed Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:45:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://showme.co.za/nelspruit/?p=39546 The Life of Flying | Clayton Maggs https://showme.co.za/nelspruit/lifestyle/the-life-of-flying-clayton-maggs/ Fri, 01 Aug 2014 06:07:13 +0000 When tragedy strikes it often happens that just a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Clayton Maggs...]]> When tragedy strikes a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Clayton Maggs knows just how true this is and experiences first-hand every day how the medical rescue helicopter he flies can be this difference.

By Benno Stander

Clayton Maggs Rescue Helicopter pilot

Clayton is an avid fisherman and had many close calls fishing among the big five while growing up in Kruger National Park. Even though he still fishes as often as possible, he now spends much of his time in the air getting critical patients to hospitals safely.

“I grew up in Kruger National Park and as soon as I left I started missing it a lot. We had many privileges while living there and one was definitely the fact that we got to fly regularly.” Clayton’s father sometimes flies for Kruger as part of his job and in his family there are quite a few pilots. He showed a keen interest in flying at a young age and took every chance he got to fly with pilots working in the park.

“Flying is definitely my fix and it is great that I was able to turn the passion I have for flying into a career.”

Clayton Maggs

Clayton Maggs in his uniform ready for action

After school he took a gap year and went to the UK where he did various jobs. This gave him time to make up his mind and when he did he knew for sure what he wanted to do. “Helicopter training is very expensive and after returning to SA it took us a while to come up with a strategy of how we were going to pay for it. Luckily with so many family members and friends in the aviation industry, and the help of my folks, we were able to sort something out,” Clayton remembers.

After qualifying as a helicopter pilot he moved to East London where he worked for five years. He did many types of flying from car tracking, charters, cash in transit and power line inspection. But someone knew that there was a Lowvelder far from home and Clayton got a call from Halo Aviation who needed a pilot in Nelspruit.

“At that stage medical flying was the one thing I hadn’t done or thought about doing.     I was set on broadening my experience and portfolio so I was keen to try something new.”

 

“It was also close to home so I was really keen since it meant my wife and I could see our parents more often and go to Kruger. I was however cautioned by many people that medical flying is not for everyone.”

According to Clayton medical rescue flying entails seeing some dire situations and it is important to never let anything interfere with your judgement or affect you in any way. “The pilot does not get involved on a physical level with the medical emergencies but as the leader of the team the overall responsibility rests on my shoulders. We sometimes need to make some tough calls especially in bad weather where we have to call off flights simply because we cannot risk the whole team’s safety. It puts a lot of pressure on you but luckily it can also be very rewarding,” he explains.

The Bell 407 helicopter used by Clayton

The Bell 407 helicopter used by Clayton

“It is however amazing for me to be part of a team that saves lives. You often hear of people talking about the golden hour which refers to the critical period after an accident or medical condition. With a helicopter we are able to get to a patient, and get that patient to a hospital, in a fraction of the time it would have taken by road.”

The helicopter used by Clayton and his team is a single engine Bell 407 which is one of the faster helicopters in use at the moment. It can comfortably cruise at about 120 knots which translates to about 220km/h. If you add to this the fact that they fly as the crow, don’t get stuck in traffic and have no stop streets or potholes, it makes a big difference in travel time. Nelspruit to Jhb takes just 1 hour and 18 minutes.

“Sometimes while flaying I take a moment to look around and when I see the beauty around me I think to myself, I’m actually getting paid to do this!”

The helicopter is modified specifically for medical emergencies and has room for the pilot, two paramedics and a stretcher for the patient. It is also equipped with some of the most advanced medical equipment that basically turns it into a mobile ICU where patients can receive treatment and life support while in transit. And if you have ever wondered why medical helicopter transfers are somewhat pricey it probably makes a lot more sense if you take into consideration that a unit like the one at Halo can cost in excess of R30 million.

Clayton Maggs

On an accident scene just outside Lydenburg

According to Clayton landing the helicopter at accident scenes can be the most stressful part of a trip. “People react very differently in desperate situations and accident scenes are no different. Often people are so frantic and there is so much adrenaline flowing that they forget how dangerous a helicopter’s rotors can be, especially since you can’t see them while they are moving. There are also a number of things like power cables that we need to keep an eye out for when landing. It really takes all six eyes on board to ensure all is clear for landing and take-off.

This job can take a lot out of you and it definitely has some downs but every now and then I get reminded exactly why I love it. A while back we picked up a patient who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. As the medics were treating him his son came up to me and said, ‘thanks oom for saving my dad’s life!’ It’s a small gesture but believe me, it makes all the difference.”

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