Another Medivac accident

[fmtistudent]

Thoughts and prayers to ther families .

[fireflymedic]

[flight-lp]

It is extremely disheartening to see the number of fatal accidents that have occured in recent years. I believe it to be a three-fold issue that needs to be addressed. Some aspects have been addressed but the response and any discernable change is slow in coming. As I am too tired to repost my entire thought, I'll cut and paste it from another site...................

Your a day late and a dollar short on that comment, the industry is already under massive scrutiny.

We can armchair this one all we want, but right now we only know one thing; that there was uncontrolled flight into terrain.

Without being too speculative, one aspect that will be evaluated is the current weather at the time of the crash. It was marginal VFR if not IFR. I would not be too surprised if the final report lists "inadvertant entry into IMC" as a factor.

The AS365 is an awesome EMS platform with more than adequate power and payload capabilities, including single engine lift capability. As there was no distress call made in reference to mechanics, maintenence may not even be an issue.

The unfortunate truth to the industry is threefold.

1. There is too much uneeded utilization of helicopters. Interfacility transfers that can go by ground and many MVA / trauma's that also can go by ground ALS. All too aften, I would land on a scene and be told by the medic that the reason they were flying was due to "significant mechanism". MOI is NOT criteria to fly someone, individual assessment of each pt. is. Also the excuse of "well XX hospital will wind up transfering them anyways" is not acceptable. Drive your lazy butts where the pt. needs to go or wait until the transfer is ordered and then take them. Adhering to acceptable usage of the helicopter would dramatically reduce the overall possibility and chance of even being in the air in the first place. Unfortunately, many services do not allow the flight crew to refuse transport on a pt. based on medical neccessity. That has got to change!

However, that will never happen because of #2................

2. Most air services are private and rely on flight revenue or memberships to fund the operation. This equates to the attitude of "call us for anything and we'll fly them". After all, it increases the liklihood of revenue. Yes it does also equate to an increase in operating cost, but many of these private services have multiple bases. Balancing a budget from within can really go far to keep a company operating. Plus, there is also the medical staff who enjoy their livelyhood. They want to stay in their cush and highly desirable job. To so so, they need to maintain their numbers and some will not hesitate to put aside true medical need just keep everything in the black. (flight crews, you can argue this one until you are blue in the face, but we all know that it is true with some crew members).

3. There is and always will be crews out there with hazardous thought processes who see the patients needs coming before their own. The thought is that if the crew can't rescue the pt. then the pt. will not survive or have a less than positive outcome. As such, the crew tries to push on. They do so into bad weather or with known "minor" maintenence issues. Bad decision making and human error is the leading cause of all aviation accidents. It accounts for over 95% of the fatalities that the air medical industry has. One detail that I know worked for me when I was flying was not knowing a thing about my patient. When the phone call came in, we would be given the type of call. The pilot was not given the information, he was only asked if he could fly safely from point A to point B. Enroute, all I would request is a pt. weight, gender, and age. The rest I would find out when I got there (just like ground 911). By doing this, the emotional factor was completely removed by all members of the crew. The other problem with the attitude portion is the background of the pilots. Many are veterans of the Vietnam war. They come from a whole different world of flying and those traits are visible to this day. Old habits die hard..........

Until these items are addressed, along with better equipment, higher training standards, and some better regulation of the industry by the feds, we'll keep on running them into the ground. Its sad, we are losing too many good people......................

__________________

Remember, you are unique! Just like everyone else..................

[VentMedic]

Update and audio released.

NTSB Releases Report On Medevac Crash

http://wjz.com/local/medevac.crash.fog.2.852469.html

Pilot Concerned About Weather Before Chopper Crashed, Tapes Reveal

posted 11:20 pm Thu October 30, 2008 - DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1008/5658...l?ref=newsstory

SYSCOM: Up to you man. Can you fly?

BUNKER: College Park is at 810. Well, I just heard Medstar, so if they can do it we can do it.

SYSCOM: Ok, it's up to you.

BUNKER: Yeah we ought to be able to do it.

[Dustdevil]

SYSCOM: Up to you man. Can you fly?

BUNKER: College Park is at 810. Well, I just heard Medstar, so if they can do it we can do it.

SYSCOM: Ok, it's up to you.

BUNKER: Yeah we ought to be able to do it.

Because the weather could not possibly have changed in the last half hour, right? :?

[Res12cuE]

My prayers go out to all involved.

This is getting rediculous. I'm starting to think twice before i request a helicopter......and we have to do that alot in my area.

[Dustdevil]

....and we have to do that alot in my area.

Explain, please.

[Res12cuE]

I work in a rural farm area. We have one large 2 lane hwy that is frequently traveled by 18 wheelers. On average 4 out of 10 motor vehicle accidents that we respond to at least 1 pt requires helicopter transport to a trauma center. My service transports to two hospitals both being about 30 minutes away. The major trauma centers are 45 minutes to an 1 and a half away. The point is we call for helicopters alot in our area. Sorry for the confusion.

[VentMedic]

I work in a rural farm area. We have one large 2 lane hwy that is frequently traveled by 18 wheelers. On average 4 out of 10 motor vehicle accidents that we respond to at least 1 pt requires helicopter transport to a trauma center. My service transports to two hospitals both being about 30 minutes away. The major trauma centers are 45 minutes to an 1 and a half away. The point is we call for helicopters alot in our area. Sorry for the confusion.

How long is the wait at scene for the helicopter?

[Res12cuE]

We draw from about 4-5 helicopter transport services. The average time is about 20 to 30 minutes from the time they are airborne. My county has a protocol (good or bad) that states if the pt is extricated, packaged and loaded prior to the helicopter being on the ground at the scene transport is to be initiated to the nearest facility and the helicopter is to be diverted to that facility. So if you have a 15 minute extrication time you will probably be diveting the helicopter.