Professional Pilot, September 2016

when you go home Nobody here works for me they work with me Fleet management under Michael Sonnier As the years went by and the fleet grew larger with more responsibilities the need arose for someone to keep it all organized Currently that person is Michael Sonnier As Acadians air services program director he is charged with overseeing both FW and RW operations Sonnier earned his title with the many positions hes held at Acadian during his 26 years Starting off on the ground floor as an EMT in an ambulance at age 20 he worked his way up to a paramedic assignment first on the ground then in the air After several years in the field Sonnier was promoted to a position in the communications center although he insisted on continuing the paramedic work on his days off In 2005 he was asked to take on the role of fixed wing coordinator which he did until accepting his current job as director over all air services Currently the Acadian helo fleet includes 6 Airbus EC135s 1 EC145 and the 2 remaining Bo105 CBSs Out of the 6 EC135s 5 are 2001 T1 models that were purchased preowned in 2009 the other is a P2 acquired new at the same time The EC145 is actually owned by Childrens Hospital of New Orleans and has been managed by Acadian since January 2016 While all of the helicopters are flown under the Acadian banner Metro Aviation handles maintenance and supplies the pilots Each of the Acadian helos is equipped with the 74 PROFESSIONAL PILOT September 2016 latest in EMS interiors with the 135s and 145 also having newer avionics and NVG compatibility On the FW side the fleet consists of 4 Beechcraft King Airs 3 of which are B200s and 1 is a 200C model Of these aircraft 2 are permanently set up for passenger only charter work while the other 2 can be converted to either a passenger or medical arrangement Acadian flies the Lear 45 for long distance emergency and non emergency medical transport missions They also operate 2 Citation 550 Bravos for charter flights with no medical missions The success of the FW charter has pushed for more growth and there are plans to add as many as 3 more airplanes possibly before the end of 2016 But caution remains the key to successful expansion as Sonnier points out We like controlled growth growth based on need not always profit And he plans to stick around to keep things that way Ive been here for 26 years I was here when Acadian was small If youre looking to work in the EMS field this is it he adds Marc Creswell is helo ops mgr Another 26 year employee is Marc Creswell As operations manager for the rotary wing division he handles the day to day activity for the helicopter section from Acadians main base in Lafayette His duties include scheduling arranging coverage of people and aircraft and coordinating with the communications center As 2007 Acadian Paramedic of the Year even in his administrative position Creswell continues to practice the medical side of his job Much like Sonnier Creswell worked his way up from an ambulance EMT all the way to his current assignment which seems to fit him well I work with a good group of guys Creswell explains I get to select the top paramedics in the company Ive got 1500 to pick from and Ive got 25 that work directly for me and another 10 parttime Creswell routinely visits each of the 6 air stations every 10 to 12 days sometimes just to check on his people Cajun culture is family oriented and that culture is ingrained in our company he says Jim Gross from Metro flies helos for Acadian One of the people that Creswell works with on a daily basis is helicopter pilot Jim Gross As all the 33 Acadian RW pilots are Gross is employed by Metro Aviation and contracted to Acadian Trained in electronics during his time in the US Air Force and later employed by RCA and GE he realized that was not his lifes calling One of my friends took me for a fixed wing flight 6 months later I took him for a flight I was hooked Gross says After seeing a Robinson R22 at an airshow in California he knew he wanted to fly helicopters so he obtained his ratings and worked as a CFI and was hired by PHI in 1996 In 2002 when he went to work for Metro Aviation Gross had filled in on an Acadian flight once so when Metro was awarded the Acadian contract he quickly grabbed a spot at their Lafayette base I like the EMS portion of it the variety the offsite landings and I get to go home every day Gross explains When asked about the work he and Acadian performed during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 he says It was the most demanding intense rewarding flying that Ive done On one flight I had 13 people 10 babies and 3 adults And this from a pilot who flies aerobatic planes in his spare time and even had to bail out of one 2 years ago Theres good and bad to any job but I like going to work I like my job Kent Sibille is mx director It takes the right person to keep a fleet of this size flying For Acadian As an important part of its fixed wing operations Acadian operates a total of 4 Beechcraft King Airs 3 B200s and a 200C that are used for both medical transport missions and charter flights