Pivotal, Hyde County EMS and Code Blue Resources have placed an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft into live emergency service in Hyde County, North Carolina, where it responded to two 911 calls as part of routine medical operations. In one case, the eVTOL reached the patient about 20 minutes before the ground ambulance, allowing advanced life support to begin while road crews were still en route.
The aircraft was flown by Quinn Reece, a flight-trained paramedic, and carried ALS equipment directly to the scene. The partners described the programme as the first operational use of an eVTOL in routine emergency medical response in the United States.
The missions were carried out in a rural county where road access can slow conventional ambulance response. Hyde County and its partners have positioned the aircraft as a way to close the gap between emergency call and first medical intervention in geographically challenging areas.
Axios reported that the two patients were involved in a diabetic emergency and a cardiac emergency, and both had positive outcomes. The deployment offers an early example of eVTOL use beyond passenger transport, with emergency medical services emerging as a near-term application.