Maryland State Police Trooper Helicopters
By Alan Henney (alan@henney.com)
“It’s in Montgomery
County,” proclaims dispatcher Steven Risso seconds after answering the phone.
To Risso’s left, lifting the headset to his ear, sits Maryland state trooper
Sgt. Tony Galloway. For a moment, the dimly lit room is silent except for the
clicking of Galloway’s computer keyboard as he retrieves the map grid for the
accident scene. Galloway hits the speed dial button to Trooper 8’s hangar and
feeds the landing zone location and coordinates to the waiting air crew.
Meanwhile, Risso has
completed the medevac request form and adjusts his telephone headset, “Hi it’s
SysCom,” he says to the nurse at Suburban Hospital, “Trooper 8 is en route to
Rockville for an auto accident, they’ll see you in about 10 minutes.” Moments later Trooper 8 is airborne and the
helicopter’s location, along with seven other helicopters, is tracked on a
blurry projection TV screen across the room.
More than 8,000
public safety helicopter missions each year begin in a similar manner at this
communications facility operated by the Maryland Institute for EMS Systems
(MIEMSS) on the campus of University of Maryland at Baltimore. When this
center, known as SysCom (systems communication), receives a request, usually
from one of the county’s “central alarms,” it dispatches a helicopter from one
of eight Maryland bases. SysCom also helps coordinate flights for other area
medevac providers (listed elsewhere in this article).
How It All Started
Maryland was the first
state and remains one of the few to operate such an extensive medevac program.
The program’s foundation is based on research conducted by the late R. Adams
Cowley, a trauma surgeon and founder of Maryland’s shock trauma system. In
1968, Cowley evaluated the effects of sustained uncorrected shock in trauma
patients. Cowley discovered that if internal bleeding was stopped and the
underling shock was reversed within the first hour – what he eventually dubbed
the “golden hour” – patient survival rates increased significantly.
In 1961 Cowley opened the
nation's first shock-trauma center at the University of Maryland campus in
Baltimore, but many patients couldn't get there in time.
Cowley looked for faster
ways to bring hospital-like care to the critically injured within that first
hour. He considered military-style mobile operating rooms and tractor trailers
that could meet ambulances halfway. But the most viable solution was modeled
after the army’s success in Korean and Vietnam where battlefield casualties
were flown by helicopters staffed by medics to front-line MASH units.
The Maryland State Police
acquired its first aircraft in 1954. It was a Stinson L-5 airplane based at Rutherford
Field in Woodlawn. In 1960 the agency purchased its first helicopter, a
piston-powered Hiller H-12E helicopter, for airborne surveillance and transport
only.
It wasn’t until the late
1960’s that Cowley approached the state police with an idea. In a television
interview, Cowley said he initially faced reluctance when he proposed that the
state police helicopter take on medical missions. That reluctance turned to
support when the project received federal funds.
The Federal Highway Safety
Act of 1968 paved way for what would become the first civilian medevac program
in the country. On June 2, 1969, the Maryland State Police in conjunction with
the University of Maryland Hospital received a federal grant for a project
entitled “Helicopter Patrol.”
It officially began on
March 18, 1970 with a single Bell Jet Ranger 206A helicopter based at the
Valley MSP barrack for 10 hours during the day. At other hours it was available
on an on-call basis from the 175th National Guard hangar at Glenn L.
Martin State Airport. The helicopter flew all of its patients to what would
eventually become the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center in
Baltimore. The Jet Rangers would become the helicopter used to provide medevac
services in Maryland for the next 25 years.
The first year the
helicopter flew 197 patients. About 88 percent of them survived. The program
was a success. That success allowed it to expand to its current size of eight
bases with 11 helicopters. More than 4,000 patients are flown each year. In its
first 25 years the aviation division flew 61,000 patients, and 152,000 police
missions, for a total of almost 140,000 flight hours.
The program has had three
fatal crashes -- all Bell Jet Rangers -- each of which killed the onboard pilot
and paramedic. The most recent crash, on Jan. 19, 1986, led to new safety
procedures, stricter standards for pilots, an airborne flight-following system
for the helicopters, and the purchase of the American EuroCopter (Aerosptable)
SA365N1 and SA365N2 Dauphin helicopters. The Dauphins cost $5.5 million each
and their high-pitched, high-powered whine distinguishes them from the
traditional helicopter sound.
The Dauphin helicopters
offer increased range and speed over the Jet Rangers. The Dauphin travels at
about 180 mph, compared with the Jet Ranger’s 115 mph. The Dauphin’s range is
500 miles, 300 miles more than the Jet Ranger. The Dauphin can lift more than
the older helicopters, enabling the crew to transport as many as six people
plus extra medical equipment. Two patients can be transported side by side in
the Dauphin, unlike the stacked configuration that was sometimes used in the
Jet Ranger. The first of 11 Dauphins was placed in service on May 18, 1989.
Patients have never been
charged for the air transport. Budget cuts in the late 1980’s eventually led to
the creation of a motor vehicle tag fee in October, 1991. Approximately 70
percent of the aviation division’s $16 million operating budget now comes from
this $8 annual motor vehicle registration tax which also supports area-wide
trauma centers and the EMS communication system.
The MSP aviation division
consists of 159 total personnel, including 44 trooper/flight paramedics, 56
uniform and civilian pilots and 59 additional support staff.
Just what frequencies has the Maryland State Police
programmed into the radios of its Trooper helicopters? During the Jet Ranger days the answer was
simple -- most of the MSP channels, several med channels and, in what little channel
space remained, a few local police and fire frequencies. Although the
helicopter radio system, which was controlled by a Global Wulfsberg Systems
C-1000 Communications Management Controller, was user-programmable, it was
limited to only 30 preprogrammed channels.
Preprogrammed channel plans varied somewhat throughout
the state to accommodate communication with various agencies. On a regular
basis scanner listeners heard a helicopter pilot or medic come up on a
jurisdiction's primary fire or police channel only to have the dispatcher refer
the crew to a "working" frequency which hadn't been preprogrammed.
After the helicopter crew finally entered that frequency into its radio, all
too often they were missing the repeater input, or even worse, a coded squelch
tone.
The Global Wulfsberg Systems C-5000 Communications
Management Controller has eliminated much of the radio confusion in the MSP
helicopters. The $5,100 controller holds 350 preprogrammed memory channels. No
longer does the pilot have to be a scanner enthusiast to find a frequency. Each
channel can include independent transmit/receive frequencies and CTCSS/DCS, a
three-digit channel number plus room for an eight-character channel descriptor.
The C-5000 can be programmed using a hand-held programmer or through the
keypad.
The C-5000 does for the civilian helicopter what
large-scale integrated equipment has long done for the military. The C-5000
interfaces with and simultaneously provides a single tuner for up to three
transceiver systems and eliminates the need for separate tuners for each radio.
Each transceiver system can consist of up to three radios, allowing operation
of nine radios by a single C-5000 controller. Two independent microphone inputs
and two independent balanced audio outputs allow simultaneous use of two radios
from a
single
control.
The C-5000 incorporates three digital voice recorders
which allow playback of the last 15 to 20 seconds of a conversation from each
of the three transceiver systems. The C-5000 is capable of simulcast,
cross-band relay, relay/simulcast, repeater and cross-band full duplex
operation across as many as three channels simultaneously. In addition, the
C-5000 can interface with the most common types of commercial or military voice
encryption equipment including Motorola DVP/DES, GE's Voice Guards, Transcript
International KY-58, and others.
The C-5000's screen displays two lines of information
which explain the mode of operation using bluish white electroluminescent
lighting. On the keypad, 12 push-buttons carry numerals and letter codes which
represent the available functions.
Global Wulfsberg Systems manufactures more than 90
percent of the aviation community's FM radios. Global Wulfsberg radios such as
the RT-138F, RT-30, RT-406F Flexcomm, and the TR-9600F Flitecomm are a familiar
sight in many public safety helicopter panels.
Here is the channel plan used throughout Maryland by the
Trooper helicopters. Next to the frequency is the mode; “s” for simplex, “d”
for duplex, or “r” for repeater. In the case of duplex or repeater operation,
UHF inputs are the standard offset (5 MHz higher for 450-470 or 3 MHz higher
for 470-512 MHz). Listed to the right of the CTCSS/DCS tone is the
eight-character channel tag that appears on the C-5000's display.
Each of the state's 23 counties has been numbered in
alphabetic order for EMS reporting purposes (same number used in the channel
tag). The list starts with Maryland State Police (MSP) channels, followed by
county law enforcement, fire, and EMS channels for each of the state’s
counties. Miscellaneous federal, state and municipal police departments are
then listed followed by state police frequencies for West Virginia (WVSP),
Virginia (VSP), Delaware (DSP), and Pennsylvania (PSP). Selected county
frequencies for those adjacent states are then included along with the standard
med channels.
Ch# Freq M [Tone ] Display Use/Agency
001 39.1000 s [None
] A01 MSP1 Statewide
002
39.2600 s [110.9] A02 MSP2 MARNIS/College
Park Q
003 39.0800 s [110.9] A03 MSPW McHenry
004 39.2400 s [110.9] A04 MSPC Cumberland
005 39.3400 s [110.9] A05 MSPO Hagerstown
006 39.4000 s [110.9] A06 MSPB Frederick
007 39.5200 s [110.9] A07 MSPG Westminster
008 39.4200 s [110.9] A08 MSPA Waterloo
009 39.3200 s [110.9] A09 MSPN Rockville
010 39.3000 s [110.9] A10 MSPL Forestville
011 39.0600 s [110.9] A11 MSPH Waldorf
012 39.3800 s [110.9] A12 MSPT Leonardtown
013 39.2800 s [110.9] A13 MSPU Prince
Frederick
014
44.7400 s [110.9] SysCom Med-evac
Coord
015 47.6600 s [100.0] Heli Med Med-evac
Med Consults
016 155.1900 s [110.9] Pil-Med1 Helo
Pilot-to-Medic 1
017 465.0500 s [110.9] Pil-Med2 Helo
Pilot-to-Medic 2
018 155.7300 s [None
] Repeater Vehicular
RP talkaround
019 155.4750 s [None
] NLEEF National
Law Enfo
020 39.2400 s [146.2] B04 MSP5 Tactical
021 39.6000 s [179.9] B05 MSPV Berlin
022 39.7800 s [110.9] B06 MSPE Salisbury
023 39.9600 s [110.9] B07 MSPI Easton
024 39.8000 s [110.9] B08 MSPS Centreville
025 39.1400 s [110.9] B09 MSPJ Annapolis
026 39.0400 s [110.9] B10 MSPP Glen
Burnie
027 39.8400 s [110.9] B11 MSPF North
East
028 39.9200 s [110.9] B12 MSP4 Tactical
029 39.2400 s [127.3] B13 MSPM JFK
Highway
030 39.4400 s [110.9] B14 MSPR Golden
Ring
031 39.3400 s [127.3] B15 MSPD Bel
Air
032 39.6200 s [110.9] B16 MSP3 Pikesville
HQ
033 155.1900 s [173.8] MSP Hi B Barrack
to Barrack
034 151.0400 r [173.8] MSP Hiwy JFK
Memorial Highway
035 154.2800 s [None
] Fire MA1 Fire Mutual Aid
036 154.2950 s [None
] Fire MA2 Fire Mutual Aid
037 33.7800 s [
82.5] 01 Fire1 Allegany Co
038 33.6800 s [
82.5] 01 Fire2 Allegany Co
039 155.2800 s [None
] 01 EMS
Allegany Co
040 460.0500 s [114.8] 02 Metro Baltimore
PMARS
041 154.0100 s [114.8] 02 Fire1 Anne
Arundel Co Disp
042 154.3400 s [114.8] 02 Fire2 Anne
Arundel Co Patch
043 39.5600 s [None
] 03 PD
Baltimore Co Patch
044 46.4600 s [None
] 03 Fire1 Baltimore Co Disp
045 46.2800 s [None
] 03 Fire2 Baltimore Co Patch
046 39.2800 s [110.9] 04Sherif Calvert
Co/MSPU
047 33.8200 s [None
] 04 Fire1 Calvert Co
048 33.6000 s [None
] 04 Fire2 Calvert Co
049 39.5800 s [None
] 05Sherif Caroline Co
050 33.7000 s [118.8] 05 Fire1 Caroline
Co
051 33.4400 s [118.8] 05 Fire2 Caroline
Co
052 39.8800 s [None
] 06Sherif Carroll Co
053 33.9400 s [None
] 06 Fire1 Carroll Co
054 33.9200 s [None
] 06 Fire2 Carroll Co
055 39.9400 s [
94.8] 07Shrif1 Cecil Co
056 39.9000 s [
94.8] 07Shrif2 Cecil Co
057 46.1800 s [
94.8] 07 Fire1 Cecil Co
058 46.2600 s [
94.8] 07 Fire2 Cecil Co
059 46.4000 s [
94.8] 07 Fire3 Cecil Co
060 46.3000 s [
94.8] 07Singly Singerly FD; Elkton
061 155.5350 r [156.7] 08Shrif1 Charles
Co
062 155.6100 r [156.7] 08Shrif2 Charles
Co
063 155.6400 r [156.7] 08Shrif3 Charles
Co
064 158.7750 s [162.2] 08 Fire1 Charles
Co
065 155.0850 s [162.2] 08 Fire2 Charles
Co
066 39.5800 s [None
] 09Sherif Dorchester Co
067 46.0600 s [None
] 09 Fire1 Dorchester Co Patch
068 39.0200 s [110.9] 10Sherif Frederick
Co
069 46.3400 s [None
] 10 Fire2 Frederick Co
070 46.4200 s [None
] 10 Fire1 Frederick Co
071 46.2400 s [None
] 10 Fire3 Frederick Co
072 154.8900 s [None
] 10 ATR Frederick
Co Advanced Tac Res
073 39.1800 s [
82.5] 11Sherif Garrett Co
074 33.8800 s [None
] 11 Fire1 Garrett Co
075 33.9600 s [None
] 11 Fire2 Garrett Co
076 155.2800 s [186.2] 11 EMS
Garrett Co
077 460.3750 r [192.8] 12Shrif1 Harford
Co
078 460.0750 r [192.8] 12Shrif2 Harford
Co
079 460.3000 r [192.8] 12PSMARS Harford
Co PMARS
080 460.6000 r [136.5] 12 Fire1 Harford
Co
081 460.5750 r [136.5] 12 Fire2 Harford
Co
082 460.6250 r [136.5] 12 Fire3 Harford
Co
083 159.0900 r [103.5] 13 PD 1
Howard Co
084 155.5950 r [103.5] 13 PD 2
Howard Co
085 155.3700 s [103.5] 13 PD 3
Howard Co
086 155.1150 r [103.5] 13 PD 5
Howard Co Coord Ch
087 154.2500 r [103.5] 13 Fire1 Howard
Co
088 154.2200 s [103.5] 13 Fire2 Howard
Co
089 154.1750 s [103.5] 13 Fire3 Howard
Co
090 159.2100 r [103.5] 14Sherif Kent
Co
091 33.9800 s [None
] 14 Fire1 Kent Co
092 33.8400 s [None
] 14 Fire2 Kent Co
093 494.7125 r [156.7] 15Rockvl Montgomery
Co
094 494.8625 r [156.7] 15Bethes Montgomery
Co
095 494.9125 r [156.7] 15SilSpg Montgomery
Co
096 495.3125 r [156.7] 15Wheatn Montgomery
Co
097 495.3375 r [156.7] 15Germnt Montgomery
Co
098 495.3625 r [156.7] 15 PD 6
Montgomery Co
099 495.3875 r [156.7] 15 PD 7
Montgomery Co
100 495.4125 r [156.7] 15 PD 8
Montgomery Co
101 153.9500 r [156.7] 15 F 7/1 Montgomery
Co
102 154.1600 r [156.7] 15 Fire2 Montgomery
Co
103 155.5200 s [156.7] 15 Fire3 Montgomery
Co
104 155.3400 s [156.7] 15 EMS 1 Montgomery
Co
105 153.9500 r [156.7] 15 River Montgomery
Co
106 494.6875 r [127.3] 16 PD 1
Pr George’s Co
107 494.5375 r [127.3] 16 PD 2
Pr George’s Co
108 495.1375 r [127.3] 16 PD 3
Pr George’s Co
109 495.0875 r [127.3] 16 PD 4
Pr George’s Co
110 494.5625 r [127.3] 16 PD 5
Pr George’s Co
111 494.8875 r [127.3] 16 PD 6 Pr
George’s Co
112 494.9375 r [127.3] 16 PD 7 Pr
George’s Co
113 494.7375 r [127.3] 16 PD 8 Pr
George’s Co
114 494.3125 r [210.7] 16 PD 9 Pr
George’s Co
115 495.2125 r [192.8] 16 PD 10 Pr
George’s Co
116 495.0125 r [127.3] 16 Fire1 Pr
George’s Co
117 494.8375 r [127.3] 16 Fire2 Pr
George’s Co
118 494.7875 r [127.3] 16 Fire3 Pr
George’s Co
119 495.0625 r [127.3] 16 Fire4 Pr
George’s Co
120 39.5000 s [None
] 17Sherif Queen Anne’s Co
121 46.1400 s [None
] 17 Fire1 Queen Anne’s Co
122 46.0800 s [None
] 17 Fire2 Queen Anne’s Co
123 39.4600 s [None
] 18Shrif1 St Mary’s Co
124 39.7000 s [None
] 18Shrif2 St Mary’s Co
125 33.9400 s [None
] 18 Fire2 St Mary’s Co
126 33.7200 s [None
] 18 Fire1 St Mary’s Co
127 46.1800 s [None
] 19 Fire1 Somerset Co
128 46.2400 s [None
] 19 Fire2 Somerset Co
129 39.4800 s [None
] 20Sherif Talbot Co
130 33.9000 s [118.8] 20 Fire1 Talbot
Co
131 33.6400 s [118.8] 20 Fire2 Talbot
Co
132 33.6800 s [118.8] 20 Fire3 Talbot
Co
133 33.6600 s [118.8] 20 Fire4 Talbot
Co
134 39.1800 s [136.5] 21Shrif1 Washington
Co
135 39.6000 s [136.5] 21Shrif2 Washington
Co
136 33.8600 s [
77.0] 21 Fire1 Washington Co
137 33.8400 s [
77.0] 21 Fire2 Washington Co
138 33.8000 s [
77.0] 21 Fire3 Washington Co
139 453.7500 r [103.5] 22Sherif Wicomico
Co
140 33.9800 s [None
] 22 Fire1 Wicomico Co
141 33.8000 s [None
] 22 Fire2 Wicomico Co
142 39.1800 s [None
] 23Sherif Worcester Co
143 46.3800 s [None
] 23 Fire1 Worcester Co
144 46.4400 s [None
] 23 Fire2 Worcester Co
145 46.3600 s [None
] OC Fire1 Ocean City
146 154.0250 s [146.2] OC Link Ocean
City Patch
147 154.3100 r [156.7] BC Fire1 Baltimore
City
148 154.3250 s [156.7] BC HEAT
Baltimore City
149 453.1000 r [127.3] TF HT KB Toll
Fac; Harbor Tunnel/Key Bridge
150 453.5750 r [127.3] TFBayBrg Toll
Fac; Lane Bridge
151 453.9750 r [127.3] TFNiceBr Toll
Fac; Nice Bridge
152 453.5750 r [167.9] TF FMTun Toll
Fac; Ft McHenry Tunnel
153 453.5750 r [173.8] TF Hatem Toll
Fac; Hatem Bridge
154 151.3250 s [114.8] DNRFores DNR;
Forestry
155 39.2200 s [110.9] DNRMarin DNR;
Marine Police
156 166.5125 s [103.5] P40 Ops
Camp David
157 453.2000 r [114.8] PDBCtyW2 Baltimore
PD Citywide
158 453.8000 r [162.2] PDAberde Aberdeen
PD
159 453.5500 r [136.5] PDBelair Bel
Air PD
160 453.3000 r [141.3] PDCambrg Cambridge
PD
161 460.1750 r [127.3] PDCumber Cumberland
PD
162 154.9500 r [156.7] PDEaston Easton
PD
163 155.7900 r [123.0] PDElkton Elkton
PD
164 494.3125 r [
423 ] PD FDK 1 Frederick City PD 1,2
165 494.3625 r [
423 ] PD FDK 3 Frederick City PD 3,4
166 494.4125 r [
423 ] PD FDK 5 Frederick City PD 5,6
167 460.2250 r [
261 ] PDHDG Hi Havre de Grace PD
168 495.2375 r [156.7] PDRockvl Rockville
PD
169 460.3750 r [141.3] PD Sby 2 Salisbury
PD
170 460.0750 r [141.3] PD Sby 1 Salisbury
PD
171 166.9250 r [127.3] USPP 2
US Park PD
172 166.7250 r [127.3] USPP 1
US Park PD
173 167.0750 r [127.3] USPP 3
US Park PD
174 151.2800 r [118.8] MNCPP 1
Md Pk PD; Mont Co
175 151.3400 s [118.8] MNCPP 2
Md Pk PD; Mont Co
176 461.7750 r [141.3] JHop Sec Hopkins
Hosp Security
177 464.1750 r [
025 ] Bayv Sec Bayview Hosp Security
178 42.2600 d [151.4] WVSP MB1 mob
to base; p/w 42.1
179 42.1000 d [151.4] WVSP BM1 base
to mob; p/w 42.26
180 42.2600 d [167.9] WVSP MB2 mob
to base; p/w 42.1
181 42.1000 d [167.9] WVSP BM2 base
to mob; p/w 42.26
182 159.0000 r [127.3] VSPFairf Ffx-Arl
Cos
183 159.1350 r [167.9] VSP PW
Loud-Pr Wm Cos
184 154.6650 s [167.9] VSP Tac
Tactical
185 154.6650 r [123.0] DSP 1 NC New
Castle Co
186 154.9350 r [123.0] DSP2Kent Kent
Co
187 154.7550 r [123.0] DSP3 Sus Sussex
Co
188 154.8600 s [None
] DSP SWEN Statewide Emer Net
189 45.0200 s [None
] DSP AvCm Aviation Comm HQ
190 155.5800 d [186.2] PSP A AD Ch
A; Adams, Lancaster, Somerset; p/w 154.95
191 155.6700 d [186.2] PSP B FR Ch
B; Franklin, Avondale; p/w 155.91
192 155.5050 d [186.2] PSP C YK Ch
C; York, Fulton, Bedford; p/w 155.85
193 154.6650 d [186.2] PSP D CM Ch
D; Cumberland, Carlisle; p/w 158.91
194 154.7550 s [186.2] PSP M/M
Statewide Mobile to Mobile
195 39.5400 S [None
] VA SIRS Statewide
Interdept Radio Sys
196 155.3550 s [146.2] Lifelion LifeLion
Medevac, Hershey Pa
197 155.2050 s [146.2] York TC York
Hospital Direct
198 413.3750 r [127.3] ADW PD Andrews AFB Police
199 154.2050 s [
77.0] DC Fire4 Wash DC Fire
200 154.1900 s [
77.0] DC Fire5 Wash DC Fire
201 154.4300 r [173.8] AlexFire Alexandria
Va Fire
202 154.1300 r [127.3] ARL Fire Arlington
Co Va Fire
203 151.9550 s [127.3] GERMS Georgetown
Univ EMS
204 462.9750 d [203.5] MedSTAR
MedSTAR Medevac, DC
205 33.9000 s [None
] BERK F-1 Berkeley Co WV Fire
206 155.3400 s [None
] BERK EMS Berkeley Co WV EMS
207 453.5250 r [141.3] BERK Shf Berkeley
Co WV Sheriff
208 46.1400 s [None
] Grant F1 Grant Co WV Fire
209 33.8800 s [None
] Grant F2 Grant Co WV Fire
210 37.2800 s [None
] GrantShf Grant Co WV Sheriff
211 46.1400 s [123.0] Hamp F-1 Hampshire
Co WV Fire
212 155.4000 s [None
] Hamp EMS Hampshire Co WV EMS
213 37.2800 s [None
] Hamp Shf Hampshire Co WV Sheriff
214 46.1400 s [None
] Hrdy F-1 Hardy Co WV Fire
215 155.2800 s [None
] Hrdy EMS Hardy Co WV EMS
216 37.2800 s [None
] Hrdy SHF Hardy Co WV Sheriff
217 153.8600 r [162.2] Jeff F-1 Jefferson
Co WV Fire
218 153.8150 s [162.2] Jeff PD4 Jefferson
Co WV Police
219 155.3850 s [123.0] Jeff EMS Jefferson
Co WV EMS
220 153.8900 s [162.2] Jeff Riv Jefferson
Co WV River
221 155.8350 r [100.0] Min F-10 Mineral
Co WV Fire
222 153.7850 s [100.0] Min F-8
Mineral Co WV Fire
223 155.8050 r [100.0] Min Shrf Mineral
Co WV Sheriff
224 <