by Thomas Pallini April, 2020

During the Ebola crisis, one Gulfstream jet was tasked with over 40 lifesaving missions as it traveled to and from hotspots in Africa bringing those infected with the deadly illness to hospitals in the US.

The “Ebola plane” or “Ebola Gray,” as it came to be known, became the go-to mode of transportation for the US Centers for Disease Control and US State Department for medical evacuations as it featured an onboard isolation and containment chamber necessary for the safe transport of afflicted patients.

Now, the modified air ambulance is taking on a new role as the “COVID-19 plane.”

With Ebola largely mitigated and the novel coronavirus pandemic in full swing, the battleship grey-painted Gulfstream is flying missions once again, this time to bring American citizens infected with COVID-19 back home to be treated.

Take a look inside the plane that the CDC and State Department turn to when a US citizen with an infectious disease needs to get home.

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Go to Business Insider

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020
BY DONNA HARRIS

Flight and medical crews from Phoenix Air Group took part in what U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called “one of the most complex medical evacuations in history.”

Last month, a cadre of highly skilled pilots, medical staff members and trip planners with the Cartersville-based aviation company successfully completed an 8,000-mile air ambulance mission to bring a critically ill American, stricken with the COVID-19 virus, out of Bhutan and into an intensive care unit in Baltimore.

Dent Thompson, senior vice president and chief operations officer with Phoenix Air, said Pompeo told reporters at a March 31 press briefing about activities that the U.S. State Department had undertaken that month.

“Top of his agenda was the State Department’s efforts to bring Americans home from around the world in the face of the growing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

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Go to The Daily Tribune