Sasless, I guess if you say it enough, maybe you will get to believe that. For those of us that know better, we're not going to change your mind.
You made several very correct statements in your response....this is not one of them.
The "We're out there fighting death...stealing lives away from the ol' Grim Reaper himself....we pluck them from the very edges of that deep abyss..." mindset is what get folks killed.
If one is a professional then one makes professional decisions based upon facts, data, protocols, and recognizes limits. If one cannot separate one's emotions from one's professional life....you ain't no Professional!
It is a job....a very risky job....that carries a certain kind of satisfaction about doing something good while at work....but it is just a way of paying the rent....nothing more. You might as well haul dead trees, boxed freshly caught Salmon, or Bubba's out to the oil rigs....EMS is just another one of the taskes we can do with a helicopter.
Open your eyes and watch how people go about the work....folks in Trauma Centers do not wear fancy Nomex Flight Suits....big ol' boots....chic Flight Helmets....or do
PR's (admin flights devoted to showing the flag) like Helicopter EMS folks.....but do the very same kind of work but do so inside a building. Ground based Paramedics/EMT's and their ground ambulances do the same work....but definitely do not go the flashy road.
See where I am headed with this?
If you fall into the trap that most EMS operations set for themselves....and do not screen effectively for it....and do not weed out those that are susceptical to taking on that John Wayne....Type "A" mentality with all its vulnerabilities.....in time disaster will happen. It is a matter of time only!
Back to your quoted comment.....I heard exactly that when I took the position I do....while working at several EMS locations. You are exactly correct in one thing....I shall never change my mind on this topic.
EMS is about providing skilled emergency medical care to sick and injured people....providing them safe....operative word...safe....efficient air transportation to locations where they can be rendered medical treatment.
Note....no where in there did I say....mention....suggest.....opine....anything about "saving lives". The "Golden Hour" concept says lives will be saved if proper medical TREATMENT is obtained. That is the Trauma Center, Heart Specialist, or similar modern facility and staff the EMS crew delivers the patient to and not just the EMS crew alone. The EMS crew is part of the system....and play an important role....but are not the be all...end all!
In flight break up?
Let's line up the odds....of a catastrophic in flight failure....and have it happen on a dark foggy, rainy, night over a very dark un lit area, while on a Helicopter EMS flight in a Bell 206 with no Stability/Autopilot system. Does anyone care to offer opinions as to the odds Inadvertent IMC while flying on NVG's could lead to such an in-flight break up sequence?
No one knows what happened to this aicraft that resulted in the death of three very fine people....and we should be careful to qualify our statements in that regard. An investigator looking into this tragedy will be having some of these very same thoughts while looking at the evidence.
If we look at history....and the long record of fatal EMS crashes in the United States....how many similarities will we find to other IIMC events?