Airport Managers in Princeton and Frenchville Do What’s Needed to Ensure LifeFlight Crews Can Safely Transport Patients
LifeFlight of Maine is committed to ensuring that everyone, in every community in Maine, has
access to critical care and medical transport where and when it is needed. However, fulfilling this
mission requires more than just the support and dedication of LifeFlight crews and staff. To
provide ICU-level care across the state, LifeFlight relies on help from an array of people. These
individuals serve their communities in many ways, most of which receive little attention. When
LifeFlight is called, for example, they become an essential part of the crew.
Brad Richard, the manager of the Princeton Municipal Airport in Washington County, and Matt
Derosier, the manager of the Northern Aroostook Regional Airport in Frenchville, have worked
in partnership with LifeFlight of Maine for years. Brad and Matt do not work directly with
patients, but they help with dozens of patient transports each year.
“For someone up here in Frenchville to have to go all the way to Boston, that’s a whole day trip on the ground, versus if they’ve got an aircraft or helicopter, you’re talking hours. And then you’ve got the care of the LifeFlight crew, which is known to be some of the best, if not the best. In Northern Maine, we’re very limited on services. Having LifeFlight is basically a lifeline, especially up here.”
~Matt Derosier, Northern Aroostook Regional Airport Manager
Unlike a helicopter, which can land on a road, in a field, or on a hospital helipad, LifeFlight’s
plane, a Beechcraft King Air B200, needs a runway that is a minimum of 2,800 feet long to
safely land; there are 34 of these runways in the state. One is in Princeton, where Brad works,
and another is in Frenchville, where Matt works.
“It takes a lot of different parts and pieces to get patients to places such as Bangor, Portland, or
Boston for critical care,” shared Brad. “As part of the airport, we’re the major crutch because
there are so many instances when either time is of the essence or the weather doesn’t support the ability for the helicopters to fly to the hospital.”
A recent summer night demonstrated the quiet but profound impact Brad has in his local
community.
It was June, and Brad was at home, which is a mile and a half away from Princeton Municipal
Airport, when he received a notification from the Flight Aware app alerting him that a pilot filed
to land in Princeton. He said he didn’t think much of it, because LifeFlight makes more than a
dozen landings a year at the airport. He continued reading his book as a rainstorm rolled in,
checking on the plane’s progress periodically.
“I heard a plane, and I’m like, ‘I shouldn’t have heard a plane,’ because I know when LifeFlight
lands, I don’t hear them,” said Brad. “I grabbed my phone and I looked at the security cameras at
the airport, and there were no runway lights on. And I’m like ‘oh crap!’”
He realized the plane he heard was LifeFlight’s, and it was flying past the airport, because it was
unable to see the runway. Brad immediately called LifeFlight’s dispatch and told them he was
aware of the problem, and that he was driving to the airport to turn the lights on so the plane
could land safely.
“I zipped out here, and I mean, it was pouring rain,” said Brad. “I got there and sure enough the
lights were off. I went into our electrical vault and ended up manually overriding the system.”
LifeFlight’s plane circled back and landed.
Brad later learned the antenna that controls the lights was broken. Had Brad not been there,
casually monitoring notifications on his phone about the airport, the LifeFlight crew would have
rerouted to Eastport.
“That would have taken a lot more time and effort,” said Brad, who noted that the ambulance
scheduled to meet the crew would also have needed to be repositioned. He left the runway lights on for the remainder of the night, so LifeFlight wouldn’t have any trouble taking off later.
Brad has spent his whole life in Maine. In addition to serving as the airport manager, Brad is also
a Maine Game Warden, where he has seen first-hand LifeFlight’s response to ATV accidents,
snowmobile crashes, and other life-threatening incidents. He understands how important
LifeFlight is for his community, and the likelihood that the person who needs to be transported is someone he’s met.
“We are a very tight-knit community around here, and everybody knows everybody. So, chances
are, if I didn’t know the person being transported by LifeFlight, I know someone who knows
them,” shared Brad. “We want to make sure that our facility is ready for LifeFlight crews all the
time.”
In the winter, this includes plowing the airport, and turning up the heat in the terminal when he
knows LifeFlight is on the way.
“I take a lot of pride in making sure our facility is ready for them as soon as possible,” said Brad.
“I’m tuned in to make sure that the crews have whatever they need.”
Three and a half hours northwest in Frenchville, Northern Aroostook Regional Airport Manager
Matt Derosier also works all hours to ensure LifeFlight crews can safely reach patients in need of
critical care. At the airport, you can find him helping with a wide range of tasks — from cutting
the grass and cleaning the runways to fueling and de-icing aircraft.
In the winter, Matt helps to de-ice LifeFlight’s plane at the airport. Matt said before the airport
had de-icing capabilities, the patient would be transported from Fort Kent to Presque Isle to
board a plane there. In 2023, using funds from donors, LifeFlight purchased de-icing equipment
and positioned it in Frenchville.
“Now those calls will just come into Frenchville, because they can get properly de-iced,” he said.
Matt also fuels LifeFlight’s helicopters — at any hour of the day — when they land at Northern
Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent. He drives the fuel truck twenty minutes from the airport to
Fort Kent to meet the helicopter.
LifeFlight of Maine’s airplane, Lima Mike, getting de-iced in Frenchville. Photos courtesy: Matt Derosier.
“It’s the evening, middle of the night, or early in the morning. When they call, we’re ready to go.
It’s just a matter of getting someone up, out of bed and in the truck, and to Fort Kent,” said Matt.
When he meets the helicopter, the medical crew goes with the patient, while Matt works with the pilot to refuel. Matt said after they’re done, he always offers to help where he can.
“I’ve even gone to one of the local restaurants and grabbed lunch for one of the guys, just
because he was in a hurry,” he shared. “That’s just the way we are up here.”
Matt says as hospitals cut services in rural Maine, LifeFlight is becoming even more important to
communities like his.
“For someone up here in Frenchville to have to go all the way to Boston, that’s a whole day trip
on the ground, versus if they’ve got an aircraft or helicopter, you’re talking hours. And then
you’ve got the care of the LifeFlight crew, which is known to be some of the best, if not the
best,” said Matt. “In Northern Maine, we’re very limited on services. Having LifeFlight is
basically a lifeline, especially up here.”
