VG - I stand corrected145s nor 117s - though it does make a stronger point about new twin engined aircraft. I standby the expectations of NVG introduction at Life Flight. I apologise for implying PHI did not use NVGs anywhere - sloppy wording on my part. But the PHI operation in this case did not have them (any ideas why) and it may have been fatal. The rest of my post was purely press story so go quibble with them.
MEANWHILE
This item by medic Bryan Bledsoe is well worth a read:
http://www.ems1.com/ambulances-emerg...ght-Ill-Say-It
Includes:
"On May 24, 2008, the National EMS Memorial Service recognized 73 of our brothers and sisters who gave their lives in the line of duty. Interestingly, 37 of those individuals died as a result of a medical aviation accident. Stated another way, nearly 51 percent of the entire memorial is tied to medical aviation incidents. In the last few weeks, we have had four medical helicopter crashes:
The University of Wisconsin’s Med Flight crashed
on May 10, 2008, killing three. They were returning following transfer of an elderly patient with an intracranial hemorrhage who later died.
On May 29, 2008, an Aero Med helicopter crashed on the roof of Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. The FAA observer and pilot got out of the aircraft before it was consumed by fire. They were rescued by the Grand Rapids Fire Department. Jet A fuel leaked into the top few floors and most of the hospital was closed as a result.
On June 6, 2008, Lehigh Valley’s MedEvac 7 crashed into a freight yard in Pottsville, Pa. while en route to a motorcycle accident. Fortunately, the crewmembers suffered only minor injuries and were removed from the wreckage by citizens who came to their aid.
On June 7, 2008, a PHI helicopter from Bryan, Texas crashed in Sam Houston National Forest just a few minutes after leaving Huntsville Memorial Hospital in Huntsville, Texas. They were transferring a 58-year-old man with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm to a hospital in Houston. The patient and the crew were all killed. Interestingly, Life Flight of Houston had originally started to make the flight, but aborted the flight when weather conditions deteriorated. The PHI team launched after conferring with the operations center in Phoenix, Ariz. "
The author goes on to explain why US EMS developed differently to that in the rest of the world, why the system is to sick and who are responsible.