Helicopter Crashes-FAA Takes Notice

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4 fatal accidents in 6 months

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Alan Levin

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- Federal aviation officials said Monday that they are concerned medical helicopter accidents may again be on the rise now that four fatal crashes have happened in less than six months.

"The recent spate of accidents has the FAA's full attention," said Alison Duquette, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

A helicopter carrying a 58-year-old patient, along with a flight nurse, paramedic and pilot, crashed into a wooded area near Huntsville, Texas, early Sunday, killing all aboard. The helicopter struck trees, spreading debris over 600 feet, according to preliminary data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The accident and three others since Dec. 30 have killed 13 people and are similar to a pattern that prompted the NTSB to conduct a special safety review of the air-ambulance industry in 2006, according to preliminary reports and an industry association.

All four of the recent fatal crashes happened at night and in places where pilots had little or no visual reference on the ground, such as a forest or over water, according to NTSB files.

"We're monitoring all these recent investigations with an eye towards whether they are related to previous recommendations we made," said Jeffrey Guzzetti, deputy director of the NTSB's aviation division.

The NTSB said in 2006 that most crashes were preventable. It issued recommendations for better technology and new rules to force pilots to be more cautious, especially at night and in poor weather.

The FAA, which regulates the air-ambulance industry, has taken numerous steps to improve safety in recent years but has balked at the more stringent suggestions by the safety board.

No accidents are acceptable on the helicopters that increasingly ferry the nation's sickest patients from remote locations to top trauma centers, said Tom Judge, program director for LifeFlight of Maine and a safety adviser to the Association of Air Medical Services.

There is no evidence that the crashes are anything more than an "unfortunate cluster," Judge said. "I think all of us are puzzled and are trying to understand what this is."

"Night continues to be a very big risk area," he said.

After a flurry of attention from crash investigators and regulators, the number of fatal air-ambulance helicopter crashes fell to two in 2006 and two in 2007, according to NTSB data. In 2008, there have been three fatal crashes. Recent crashes include:

*On Dec. 30, in Cherokee, Ala., an air-ambulance helicopter assisting in the search for a missing hunter crashed in a wooded area at night, killing a pilot, paramedic and flight nurse.

*On Feb. 5, a pilot and two medical workers died when a helicopter crashed in a bay near South Padre Island, Texas.

*On May 10, an air-ambulance helicopter crashed into trees near La Crosse, Wis., shortly after dropping off a patient at a hospital. The pilot, a physician and a nurse died.

*An FAA inspector and a pilot suffered serious injuries on May 29 when a helicopter crashed on top of the Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The pilot was receiving a routine check by the inspector. The crash prompted the evacuation of some hospital patients.

The NTSB recommended that air-ambulance companies adopt new technology to warn pilots when they flew too close to the ground and pay more attention to high-risk factors such as poor weather before departing. The NTSB also voted to encourage the FAA to approve the use of night-vision goggles.

The new technology has proved difficult to put in place, according to FAA documents and Judge.

None of the pilots on the four recent fatal crashes at night was using night-vision goggles, according to Guzzetti.

[TDP]

So,the crashes were because the pilots were not wearing night goggles? are you kidding?

[paramedicmike]

So,the crashes were because the pilots were not wearing night goggles? are you kidding?

No. Read it again. What's more, until the final results of the investigation are released everything is speculation.

-be safe

[akflightmedic]

Another aspect to be investigated is the proliferation of profit driven helicopter services competing for calls and possibly taking more risky ones simply to get that dollar so they may survive to the next quarter.

For example, the most recent crash in Huntsville was turned down by another service. The orginal crew attempted the flight and turned back due to clouds. The second service got the call and decided to go for it.

Basically the hospital helicopter shopped, which is wrong.

In the time that the first service attempted the flight, declined, and then the second service notified and attempted, the patient could have been transported by ground in a much safer, and less expensive arrangement.

Yes, the patient was ill, but how critical was he if he could wait that long for a second service to pick him up when he could have been delivered in less that time by ground?

Speaking of which, I am still looking to find out what the patient's final disposition was; did he eventually get to where he was going since the 2nd crew did not make it? How did he get there?

[paramedicmike]

Speaking of which, I am still looking to find out what the patient's final disposition was; did he eventually get to where he was going since the 2nd crew did not make it? How did he get there?

The patient was on board when the aircraft crashed and is now dead.

[akflightmedic]

Oops...my bad.

[paramedicmike]

Damn. That was a little more blunt than I anticipated. Sorry about that.

They had already managed to pick up the patient and were on their way to the receiving facility when they went down. All three crew members and the patient died in the crash.

This is really sad. We went almost the entire year of 2007 with no accidents. Since December we've had six incidents four of which were fatal.

Please keep the families, friends and coworkers of all involved in your thoughts/prayers/meditations...whatever you do.

-be safe

[JakeEMTP]

Great article by Dr. Bledsoe regarding Helicopter usage in EMS.

http://www.ems1.com/ems-products/specialty...ight-Ill-Say-It

I for one have no desire to be a flightmedic. I respect those that chose to, it's just not for me. We had a helo dispatched to a wreck we had yesterday do to a pin-in. Luckily they couldn't fly do to the smoke from a f wild fire we have here. Our EMD's automatically dispatch a helicopter to any MVC involving a pin-in. Once we arrived on scene, it was painfully obvious they did not require air transport. My partner and I discussed after the call what a waste it would have been if they had flown to our scene only to be canceled by us. It wouldn't be the first time we did it.

I feel terrible for these crews that lose their lives to unnecessary transports. We as ground crews need to really determine whether air transport is required. 9 times out of 10, ground transport will suffice.

Be safe out there.

[unknown]

Helicopter shopping is wrong, and it happens all too often. Yes we lost the crew in Northern Alabama, but weather was not a factor at all. As a matter of fact EACH and EVERY flight request we take we comm specs are required to ask 2 safety questions and our dispatch cad will not allow us to assign the flight card to a crew if they remain unanswered.

1: Has any other flight service Declined this request due to weather?

2: Is any other air craft responding to your area?

All too often when asked our callers are hesitant to answer or they do answer YES to one or both but will not give any details. At that point I call each and every flight service in the immediate area to see if it was them, why they declined and where the weather is at. Upon dispatching the crew we are required to notify the crew if another service has declined for weather. Our QA program and recorded lines are a big asset to assuring the questions get asked each and every flight. Bottom line. The flight request is up to the PIC and the med crew has the right to call 51 % if they do not feel the weather is adequate to fly.