Dog,
One had gone to a scene to pickup a patient....had a minor mechanical problem....and was enroute back to an alternate landing site....and crashed. It was an EMS aircraft and had been on an EMS mission until the maintenance problem occurred.
The second aircraft in the DC area was an EMS aircraft returning to its base in Fredricksburg after completing an EMS flight. One of the people killed was a medical crew member.
The KingAir was on an EMS mission when it crashed.
Sorry....all three were EMS aircraft and crews involved....no matter how you want to argue it. Just because no patient was onboard does not make it something other than what it is.
There is a crisis coming in the EMS business.....however you want to colour the statistics....we are killing a lot of people in the process of conducting EMS operations. The numbers were way up last year....and if the current trend continues, this year will set new records and surpass the grim years when we really slayed a bunch. That situation led to a lot of changes in the EMS industry....maybe it time for another evolutionary change.
I would love to see a real "Blue Ribbon Panel" address safety issues in both the EMS industry and the Gulf of Mexico offshore operations. The cat would certainly be in the pigeons then!