Another sad day for EMS

[IMCAuto]

3 crew killed in medical chopper crash in Tenn. - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_helicopter_down)



RIP to all those killed.

[muermel]

My condolences to families and friends of the crew. Very sad news indeed :{. Some points from the article..... "....6 am...., thunderstorms in the area, return trip to base"

"Julie Heavrin, a spokeswoman for Air Evac Lifeteam, said from company headquarters in West Plains, Mo., that the weather at the time was considered too dangerous for their helicopters to fly."

What the hell? Why did they fly when Air Evac wouldn't? Why did they fly when thunderstorms raged in the area in darkness? Why did they risk their lives and paid the ultimate price when the patient was already delivered?

And the company website says "....for enhanced safety..... has been committed for over 21 years to providing the highest level of care.... using the best eqiupment possible..." Yeah right :yuk:

Hospital Wing - Helicopter Life Flight - Air Ambulance (http://www.hospitalwing.com/aircraft.html)

No NVGs, no EGPWS, no Flight Date Recording, but the B3 had an autopilot.

Why does it all sound so familiar to me? Have a look at the comments under the article and some things become clear.

Why is it heroic when three people die for nothing? Why do they have "to put their lives on the line every day"? Should EMS operations be about putting the lives of three people in very serious danger every time the helicopter lifts off? What kind of logic justifies the loss of three lives when the patient was already delivered? Why do EMS crews try to push the limits and autsmart weather and physics? Is it because they are or want to be heroes? Is it because they want to save lives?

Another three lives wasted for a system that is sick and rotten itself. :ugh:

Don't get me wrong though. EMS crews do a tremendous job which is very important for the society. I admire these people. I just don' t get it why a system that allegedly exists to save lives kills so many people and why there is still no law that dictates a decent standard for safety equipment for EMS ships in the US.

Sad greetings




Hospital Wing is a non-profit air medical transport which provides inter-hospital transfers as well as emergency scene calls within 150 mile radius of Memphis. This area includes West Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, and Kentucky.

[Heliport]

Have a look at the comments under the article and some things become clear.
What things become clear from the comments made by members of the public?
Most of them express condolences and appreciation for all the good work done by EMS crews in that area.

[muermel]

It becomes clear that EMS crews aren't only doing their job but rather "are putting their lives on the line every day" and are seen as heroes, "at the very least, these poor folks passed helping other people" etc.. Even if they put their lives on the line every day, is this acceptable? Don't the members of the public realise that it shouldn't be like that and accident numbers are way too high and accidents too frequent?

And this comment "Look it up! Way to high a percentage of these Hospital Run Choppers are going down! I used to live out est and we had 2 or 3 a year out there! It really is better to lose the victim of these accidents, than whole medical teams, a chopper! Sorry if that seems Insensitive! Don't expect them to fly in where it isn't safe!" already has 5 thumbs down :yuk:

That's what I wanted to adress.

As I've said: I don't want to degrade the work of EMS crews or question their passion for the job.

[tottigol]

Oh boy, here we go again.
I can already hear the violins and the taps.

NO HEROES, just doing their jobs.

I can imagine all the undercover medics coming out of the woodwork over at JH.com

I wonder whether we can compare these accidents to a Darwinian process.

[Devil 49]

What Our Radar Looked Like At The Time Of Crash - WREG (http://www.wreg.com/news/nationworld/wreg-wing-radar,0,6513546.photo)

http://www.wreg.com/media/photo/2010-03/52930646.jpg

[bolkow]

Hmm, interesting radar picture, perfect flying weather?

[HueyLoach]

Hmm, interesting radar picture, perfect flying weather?
That was the ONLY thing between them and the end of their shift. :eek:

[Aser]

Brownsville medical helicopter crash is nation's fourth in six months

The crash Thursday of a Hospital Wing helicopter is the fourth fatal incident in the past six months that involved a medical transport helicopter, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot, who is from Bartlett, and two nurses were killed early Thursday when the helicopter crashed about 4 miles east of Brownsville.
It was returning to its base after transporting a patient from Parsons, Tenn., to Jackson.
The victims were pilot Doug Phillips, 58, who retired from the Memphis Police Department in 2007, Cindy Parker, 48 of Dyersburg and Misty Brogdon, 36, of Jackson.
The NTSB will be looking to see if the weather played a role in the crash since there was a line of thunderstorms in the area at around 6 a.m. when the helicopter went down in a wheat field.
“We did not see any indication of in-flight structural failure,” Christopher Hart, vice chairman of the NTSB said Friday.
Another company, AirEvac Lifetime, received a request for service on the same route at the same time, but declined the job because of the weather, a company spokesman said.
A team of nine investigators are combing the 200-foot long debris field to look for clues in the crash. There is also a representative from the Federal Aviation Administration, companies that manufacture the helicopter and engine and an official with Hospital Wing.They have recovered a chip that can provide basic information such as the helicopter’s speed, its orientation, flight control input and engine operation. The helicopter was traveling at 105 miles per hour when it crashed, Hart said.
These types of helicopters aren’t required to be equipped with black box cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorders, Hart said.
In 2006, the NTSB conducted a study of 50 helicopter crashes and made recommendations for emergency helicopters to operate at a higher safety standard.
Hart said the NTSB is particularly interested in Thursday’s crash because it’s the fourth in six months.
It could take upwards of a year for the agency to release its findings about the latest crash, Hart said.
The other three medical helicopter crashes include:
** Feb. 5, Southwest Med Evac helicopter crashed 23 miles northeast of El Paso, Texas. The helicopter was on a training mission with the U.S. Army to simulate transporting injured Army personnel using night vision goggles. Two paramedics and the pilot died.
** Nov. 14: Mountain Lifeflight helicopter crashed near Doyle, Calif., killing the pilot and two medical crew. The incident is under investigation.
Sept. 25: Omniflight Helicopters Inc., helicopter crashed near Georgetown, S.C. killing the pilot, a paramedic and a flight nurse. The helicopter was flying during a thunderstorm. The report showed no mechanical failure.
Memphis-based Hospital Wing flies three helicopters from Memphis and one each from branches in Brownsville and Oxford, Miss. The company employs 45.
Before Thursday’s crash, the company had conducted more than 49,000 accident-free missions, earning numerous safety awards.




Brownsville medical helicopter crash is nation's fourth in six months | EMS Flight Crew (http://www.emsflightcrew.com/node/3319)

:ugh::ugh::ugh:

Regards
Aser

[Corax]

When will they learn?! I mean RIP to the deceased but American HEMS folks just wont open their eyes. You want to go play in that kind of weather and in the dark, YOU NEED TWO DRIVERS!

Two pilots and two engines plus all those toys like NVG and radalt and wx radar. One pilot simply gets overwhelmed, you need two pilots plus all the toys.

One pilot, add a dying patient, night, poor wx, nvg, working an autopilot alone in low level environment, progamming an FMS, a colour wx radar, two vhf, a vhf-fm, pressure from the medical system, yeah, what could possibly go wrong America. Oh I know, add the possibility of a crappy nights sleep, a long crew duty day, money troubles, marriage problems, car problems, problems with kids. I'm sure a single pilot can handle all that. Oh wait a minute, THEY CANNOT.

It is my own opinion of course, but so long as American HEMS keeps flying single pilot and piling on those gadgets, they will keep killing people. Oh and one final shot across the bow, when the radar plot looks that way, stay the hell on the ground.

It will always be better to be on the ground wishing you were flying than to be flying wishing to god you were on the ground.

[tottigol]

Even worse, these three characters were returning to their home base, a clear case of get-homitis.
And they flew through a line of convective WX with a light single to do so.

I wonder which of the two wonder boys in the back was pressuring the pilot.

[Devil 49]

They were on the way to base after dropping the patient, within 2-4 nm. A surprising percentage, if not the majority of US HEMS accidents happen on the leg returning home, at least at night.

[heli-cal]

I wonder which of the two wonder boys in the back was pressuring the pilot

Just where does it say that the two deceased crew member's were pressuring the pilot?

That's two deceased crew member's, not "wonder boys"...

[SASless]

Rather than say "who".....we should ask "what" was the decision based upon!

We know who made the decision to fly....the Pilot....as he is the final "NO Vote" available in the process.

Let's concentrate on the "Why" shall we.....as that is the unknown!

Unfortunately, we do not log for posterity our reasons for conducting a flight....only rejecting one!

Perhaps we should change the rules to require the Pilot to file a Flight Acceptance Statement explaining their reasons for flying. At least that way we would know afterwards what motivation the Dead Man had been operating under.

The US EMS Industry continues to kill crews the same old boring ways....year after year....that is the "Why?" I want to see answered!:mad:

[heli-cal]

^ This is one of the best posts which I have ever read.

Excellent points very well made! :ok:

[tottigol]

Let us have the so called Med Crews make that acceptance statement instead SAS, to include why they need to take that flight.
Leave the pilot the capability to veto that statement.
Let's have the "Med Crews" say NO first and make that NO a qualified one just as a YES should be.

It shall be easier to see when "I need to go get my child out of daycare, and I'll find a way to write you up if we don't get back in time" shall prevail over "Are you nuts? did you look at the weather?".

Remember, it's 2 vs 1 in that cockpit and there's no CVR.

HeliCal, I think that the HEMS industry is not quite the same on either side of the Atlantic.

[Aser]

ERA10MA188 (http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20100325X93604&key=1)
:(

Regards
Aser

[IntheTin]

Makes for tough reading. :sad:

[Thomas coupling]

I've been monitoring the USA EMS threads for years - you guys NEVER learn do you. You can't control your own industry and it seems the FAA can't either. I thought this had come to a conclusion last year or the year before when the FAA wrote a report on the future of EMS safety. What happened.

For those still left behind guys - get your act together and take charge of your destiny:ugh:

How many more gungho types do you have to employ before the death toll gets completely out of hand? We ALL know what the problem is:
PRESS ON ITIS. Take charge.......where's the FAA in all this???:=

[AnFI]

... but nothing to do with the number of engines then.

... maybe two crew is the practical solution?

... 'they' must have 200 times the amount of this type of aviation than 'us' don't they? (maybe more? - how much night HEMS do 'we' do? 50 hrs per year?)

sad loss - better training? two crew?

[EN48]

The US EMS Industry continues to kill crews the same old boring ways....year after year....


Actually, if you read a few accident reports, you'll see that this is true of the helicopter industry worldwide, not just U.S. EMS. :ugh:

On a related front, TAWS, TAS/TCAS and NEXRAD in-flight wx have become so inexpensive in the last decade that it is unthinkable to me that any commercial operation would fly without these important safety tools. Not as good as two pilots, but very useful.

[Pilot13A]

My thoughts..VFR is VFR, IFR is IFR. Don't mix the two:= . NVG's are great but increase the likely hood of pilots pushing weather minimas. Two pilots are good but require larger expensive helos. Pilots that exceed their company authorisations is a recipe for disaster :ugh:.

[SASless]

Tott.....

Remember, it's 2 vs 1 in that cockpit and there's no CVR.


So very true....but in my aircraft when it came to a "NO" vote....the majority always won....except when it was my assertion of PIC's Veto which we as PIC's all have the right to exercise at any time we deem proper when we think the majority vote to "GO" is wrong. Then, the deciding vote as always reverts to the PIC.

I insist my view is correct as to our folks killing themselves in the same old boring way....until the industry adopts modern technology, simulator training, improved weather forecasting and reporting, mission acceptance procedures and the like....then perhaps I might change my mind.

[Devil 49]

I would have to argue that this position is exceptional- "NVG's are great but increase the likely hood of pilots pushing weather minimas." I'll agree that NVGs are great. They are the single greatest enhancement to safety of night off-airport operations to date, period. That said, if the PICs mindset is to 'push' the safety envelope, that's what will happen in spite of regulation, company policy and available technology. If that attitude puts the PIC in an accident situation it's not an external cause- it's the classic decision chain.
That said, there is a negative aspect possible in allowing technology to weigh too heavily in PIC decision making- if you don't also allow for survivable exit strategies, you can find yourself very, very far beyond existing capability. Enhanced night vision is no exception that 'gotcha'.

[WhirlwindIII]

is that HEMS in the US is, to some extent, definitely devolving.

Money is tight, weather becoming more active, class of helicopter going single engine - which means definitely not two pilots, or IFR capability or the possibilty of recovering to some mode of flight that will carry the helicopter to safety in the event of an engine failure, less possibility of pay increase for crews who have to feed families, provide kid's education costs, etc.

Offshore and fire fighting and corporate and other areas of our industry slowly move forward, while HEMS (despite the tout of those in management that TAWS and Rad Alts and all the other useful bits will save the day) slowly gets taken down by the profit motive.

It sure would be nice to see a CEO of a HEMS operator draw a line in the sand and start going after reimbursement for flights so the proper equipment, personnel, training and support structure can exist to do this job with a modicum of ethic and predictability. At present these companies are looking internally to cut costs (a noble gesture) but that goes ONLY so far, beyond that the money has to come from reimbursement.

I very much admired that Alan Bristow went after his clients for proper reimbursement. In that respect he's the example for others to follow.