Air ambulance transportation literally can mean the difference between life and death. It may be your life or the life of a loved one or the life of someone you haven't even met. Regardless of who that person is, when someone is involved in a life-threatening situation, it is good to know that there is a way to get that person the help he or she needs quickly. That, really, is what air transportation is all about.

There are many different scenarios under which you or someone you know might need the services that only an air ambulance company can provide. Here are several of the more common ones.

Land-based accidents

Most often when we think of air ambulance service, we think mainly of the highway accidents that involve automobiles and other types of vehicles. Perhaps the reason for this is because such a scenario is what we usually see – either on television or in real life – on those rare occasions when an air ambulance is needed. But an air ambulance can be called to the scene whenever such transportation is necessary regardless of what's involved. All the air ambulance needs is a large enough area nearby that it can use for a safe landing.

So although it might be rarer, an air ambulance could be called to the scene when a home is on fire, or when there has been an explosion in a building, or even when an emergency medical situation has developed at a community or professional sports arena.

Transportation to a better equipped facility

The other time we most often think of an air ambulance is when we hear of a situation in which a patient cannot be effectively treated at the medical facility to which he or she was taken. Air transportation can get the patient to another facility that has either the right equipment or a far more qualified team of specialists or perhaps even both. Since this type of air transportation is typically scheduled, the chosen air ambulance will be outfitted with the equipment necessary to keep the patient comfortable until the more advanced care can be administered.

In times of natural disaster

Air ambulance transportation has even saved many lives during natural disasters. Times of severe flooding caused by torrential rains, tornadoes and even hurricanes can close off roads and highways and strand those who are injured and sick. With no way to reach these individuals, it's often necessary to call in the services of an air ambulance. An air ambulance can then rescue those individuals so that they can immediately begin receiving medical attention.

There are other times when an air ambulance makes sense, too. Basically this type of transportation is best whenever a situation involves the need for immediate care, or the patient must travel a long distance in order to receive proper medical treatment, or when roads and highways are inaccessible, and even when congestion on the highway will cause the patient undue delays in receiving the treatment he or she needs to stay alive.