What Is a Helicopter Air Ambulance Pilot's Salary?

Air ambulance helicopter pilots provide medical transportation in remote areas.

Air ambulance helicopter pilots must have a commercial pilot's license, which requires 100 hours of flight time in a powered aircraft. For a helicopter rating, 50 of these hours must be in a helicopter. The salaries for air ambulance helicopter pilots vary by position.

Identification

Helicopter pilots employed in the emergency medical services and medical transportation industries earned salaries ranging from $48,443 to $74,240 per year, according to a PayScale survey of 302 helicopter pilots in all industries. This was slightly lower than the $52,135 to $81,806 earned annually by the middle 50 percent of all helicopter pilots.

Considerations

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that ambulance service pilots, including those flying helicopters, made an average annual salary of $63,010 as of May 2009. The median salary was $43,960. The lowest-paid 10 percent of ambulance service pilots earned $43,960 or less, while the best-paid 10 percent earned $85,620 or more.

Ambulatory Health Care Services

Pilots in the ambulatory health care services industry (in which medical and surgical services are provided to patients on an outpatient basis outside of a hospital) made an average annual salary of $63,210 as of May 2009, according to the BLS. The median salary was $61,360, and salaries ranged from $43,970 or less for the poorest-paid 10 percent to $86,620 or more for the best-paid 10 percent.

References

• Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2009: Commercial Pilots
• PayScale: Helicopter Pilot Salary, Average Salaries
• MedicineNet: Ambulatory Care Definition