Ultralight eVTOL Joins 911 Response in Rural N.C.

A paramedic in rural North Carolina has flown a single-seat eVTOL aircraft to two live 911 calls. The partners behind the project say the paramedic reached one patient roughly 20 minutes ahead of the ground ambulance, in what they call the first use of an eVTOL in routine emergency medical response in the U.S.

Hyde County Emergency Medical Services (Hyde County EMS), emergency medical training and consulting company Code Blue Resources, and ultralight eVTOL aircraft manufacturer Pivotal jointly announced the flights on August 11, five months after they unveiled the proof-of-concept project. The paramedic flew a BlackFly, the design that preceded Pivotal’s Helix production aircraft.

Quinn Reece, the paramedic who flew both missions, doubled as pilot and the only advanced life support provider on board, landing at coordinates near each scene with airway equipment, a cardiac monitor, and a response bag. The aircraft does not carry patients; ground crews still handle transport.

Ahead of the flights, the partners developed what they describe as the nation’s first concept of operations for integrating eVTOL aircraft into emergency medical response, and completed more than 300 training flights. Akute Networks, a Malibu, California-based nonprofit that helps public agencies adopt emerging aircraft technologies, wrote the operational framework, protocols, and flight procedures.

“Every decision we make is about getting advanced care to our citizens faster,” said Hyde County EMS chief Brook Cox. “These missions proved that we can overcome distance, reach patients sooner, and redefine emergency response in rural communities.”

Hyde County covers nearly 1,500 square miles of coastal North Carolina, from the mainland around Lake Mattamuskeet to ferry-served Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks. Its emergency responders answer roughly 1,000 911 calls a year, according to Hyde County EMS.

Code Blue Resources president Carla Baker said the partnership has “validated a new model for emergency response—one where experienced paramedics can be safely trained to fly, respond, and begin advanced patient care sooner in communities where time and geography have always been barriers.” She added that the framework “provides a practical foundation for other communities exploring advanced air mobility and the future of emergency medical response.”

A Pivotal spokesperson told AIN that the BlackFly aircraft Hyde County EMS operates were moved into a public aircraft operation and flown under Part 91, with the blue-liveried N909HB flying the two 911 missions. Part 103, which the company has long cited in marketing its aircraft as ultralights flyable without a pilot certificate, restricts ultralight vehicles to recreation or sport and does not cover emergency response. A 1984 FAA advisory circular, AC 103-7, sets out how an ultralight can instead be certificated and registered as an aircraft, and notes that government entities may operate one as a public aircraft.

Public aircraft status shifts responsibility for airworthiness and pilot qualification onto the government agency rather than the FAA—the mechanism that allows a paramedic without a pilot certificate to fly. It also requires the agency to own the aircraft or hold an exclusive lease of at least 90 continuous days. Pivotal’s spokesperson said the aircraft were leased for the duration of the pilot project.

Pivotal has delivered 13 BlackFly aircraft to “early access” customers in the U.S. and is now taking orders for the Helix. The Palo Alto, California-based company is also one of three aircraft manufacturers on the PennDOT-led team that the FAA selected for its eVTOL Integration Pilot Program; North Carolina is among the participating states.

Hyde County is not the only place aiming eVTOL aircraft at emergency medicine, though it is the first to fly operational missions. Petaluma, California-based Jump Aero is developing the single-seat JA1 Pulse for the same first-responder mission, carrying one trained medical responder and equipment to unprepared landing zones. Jump Aero plans to bring the Pulse to market as a light sport aircraft under the FAA’s MOSAIC rules and to operate it under Part 91—a path that requires a pilot certificate with a powered-lift rating.