In memoriam: Dr Thomas Buchsein

Dr Thomas Buchsein, Associate Medical Director at FAI Aviation Group, has sadly passed away.

For the past 21 years, Dr Buchsein served as Associate Medical Director at FAI rent-a-jet. Prior to that, he served as a HEMS Emergency Physician for German air ambulance provider ADAC Luftrettung between 1985 and December 2016.

Throughout his career, Dr Buchsein served thousands of patients, and was dedicated to the spread of good medical knowledge. He was an active partner of Voyageur Group, both as a contributor to features for ITIJ, and as a speaker at ITIC Global 2023.

Ian Cameron, ITIJ’s Editor-in-Chief, expressed his sadness at his passing: “I’ve known and worked with Thomas for many years. He was a man of great integrity, and just a nice person. He will be sorely missed.”

Mandy Langfield, Voyageur’s former Director of Publishing, stated that “Thomas was an amazing person and colleague, always a delight to work with, [and] he shall be sorely missed”.

Alongside this, Helen Watts, Voyageur’s Director of Events, and Marc Banting, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, shared reminiscences of their own.

“My favourite memory of him has to be the session in Barcelona, the second time I moderated at ITIC,” said Banting. “He took on the persona of a person suffering with a mental health episode, and it played out on stage, throughout, and was the premise for his presentation.

“My only wish was that he told me in advance what he was going to do – the look on my face was, well … thankfully I was facing the stage. The industry was better for him. It took a while for the penny to drop on that one! Well played, Dr Thomas.”

Watts added: “I loved seeing Dr Buchsein at ITIC. He was always lovely to talk to, an amazing speaker, and a helpful committee member. He will be very much missed by the ITIC community.”

Dedication, leadership, and a lasting contribution

Members of the broader aeromedical community have also reacted with sadness to the news of Dr Buchsein’s passing.

Bluedot Air Ambulance issued a statement that they were “deeply saddened” by the death, adding that “his dedication, leadership, and lasting contribution to the air ambulance industry has inspired countless professionals around the world”.

The company also extended its “heartfelt condolences to FAI Air Ambulance, the entire FAI Group, and Dr Buchsein’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time”.

Philipp Bauer, Executive Partner at Medical Flight Service, also made a post on LinkedIn bidding farewell to his friend, stating that “I personally owe him a great deal.

“What stayed with me was his calm presence, his composure, and his exceptional medical expertise. Even in highly challenging situations, Thomas had the ability to bring clarity and confidence to the entire team,” he said.

Bauer added: “Throughout his career, he contributed to the care and safe transport of thousands of patients. Behind every mission was a human being who placed their trust in his hands – a responsibility Thomas carried with extraordinary professionalism, calmness, and humanity.”