A helicopter accident in Arizona this week brings the death toll from crashes of medical helicopters and planes so far this year to 21, raising questions about the safety of medical aircraft, The Associated Press reports.
Tuesday’s crash of an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter near Scotland, Ark., which killed three, was the fourth such fatal accident this summer.
This year’s total is up sharply from last year, when six people were killed. In 2004, the deadliest year for these accidents in the last decade, 31 people died in medical helicopter and plane crashes.
Robert Sumwalt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the AP that he is concerned that the Federal Aviation Administration has not implemented safety recommendations for the air medical industry made by his agency.
The recommendations include requiring helicopter operators to install systems that warn pilots when they are in danger of crashing into mountains or buildings and having formal evaluations to determine if flights are too risky.
An FAA spokesman said the agency plans to publish new safety rules soon.
There are about 800 airplanes and helicopters in the emergency medical transport industry.
If your organisation needs services with medical air evacuations like air ambulances etc then its important to choose an experienced and highly qualified partner. RMSI is a highly experienced company with a highly qualified staff. Thats why they are the preferred partner for United States Army and United Nations.
Clyde……I happen to be an Army aviator myself and also fly for an EMS company when Im not deployed as is the case right now. A husband, outstanding family guy and prior Marine aviator lost his life trying to save another…that would be Mr. Ken Robertson. Mr. Ken Meyer, the nurse on board, and Gayla, the medic, were both seasoned veterans within the ranks of the EMS world and both great people. The first thing you need to learn is respect sir. That pilot was one of the best and if there was a way to get that aircraft down safely he would have done it! You obviously have not looked at the NTSB initial reports stating debri scattered over a one mile area, mayday calls that were taken and witness accounts showing the aircraft broke up in flight. We can not be sure the cause and that will indeed take time but you sir need to get your facts straight before talking about people and things you know nothing of. I take pride in serving with the men and women who sometimes give their lives in the selfless act of furthering freedom or attempting to save a life! How dare you, so called mega hour Army pilot, disrespect fallen men and women regardless of the cause! I agree that safety should be paramount in ALL aviation operations sir but don’t be so quick to judge the motives or actions of others in a career field you do not understand. Was it worth it? Absolutely! They will be missed, but their sacrifice was not in vain. As a deployed aviator and service member, I put my life on the line every day for my country. Loyalty, duty, respect, SELFLESS service, honor, integrity and personal courage…..you should try living them and not just using them as a punch line! God help their families and God bless them for the job they did! CPT/ U.S. Army
Clyde Canup, what an insensitive a****** you are. I can’t believe you would post something like this…
Let’s not jump to conclusions here.
Let’s say they find the rotor some distance from the aircraft, as was the case in the 222 accident in Dallas. The most skilled of Army hotshot pilots cannot fly a helicopter if he’s watching the main rotor decide it wants to depart the aircraft and go somewhere other than the rest of the machine.
God Bless these responders for the job they were attempting to do.
And please Lord, give the rest of us the patience to wait and see what caused the deaths of these poor souls.
I work as an A&P for the world’s largest EMS carrier. All of my pilots at my base are retired Army pilots with “mega hours of flying”. We do not fly IFR flights. Considering the amout of flights that our company alone has in one year, the safety record is pretty damn good. The law of averages will always catch up with you, no matter if it’s driving down the highway, or flying any type of aircraft.
These med evac Pilots need to learn to respect the weather,as a retired Army Helicopter Pilot with mega hours of flying sometimes you have to tell yourself not to attempt to fly through some of these weather patterns.
It doesn’t make much sense taking 3 or 4 lives trying to save one. From what I am seeing in most of these Pilots that are a bunch of Mocha Hot Shot Pilots. For Gods sake use a little common sense.