Maryland Air Ambulance Medical Helicopter Crash

September 28, 2008

Maryland Air Ambulance Medical Helicopter Crash

Medevac Helicopter Crash Kills Four of Five

The medical helicopter was carrying victims of a traffic accident when it went down in a suburban Washington park. It is one of the deadliest air ambulance helicopter accidents ever in Maryland and the eighth fatal medical helicopter crash in the last 12 months nationwide. The medical helicopter was headed from the traffic accident to a local hospital when the helicopter was diverted to Andrews Air Force Base late Saturday because of bad weather. As they approached, their runway location was changed and the pilot radioed that he was having trouble assessing his surroundings. The pilot again asked for assistance with the landing, and that was the last air traffic controllers heard from him. The medical helicopter crashed about 1:15 a.m., three miles from the base on 9-28-08.

The NTSB and the FAA are investigating the cause of this tragic crash.

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September 14, 2008

Tourist Helicopter Crash Kills Four

Tourist / Sightseeing chopper crash kills in Australia. Four people - three of them believed to be tourists - are dead after a helicopter crashed in the Bungle Bungle ranges in Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region. The 40-year-old pilot and three women - one thought to be aged 19 and the other two 20 - were killed when the helicopter went down during a scenic flight to the Purnululu National Park yesterday afternoon. The helicopter burst into flames when it crashed 10km from the Bellburn air strip in the national park, near the Argyle diamond mine.  The crash sparked a bushfire that built into a blaze with a 1km-long front.  Bellburn airstrip, where the helicopter went down, is a bush camp in the park about 55km by air from the township of Warnum, which is also known as Turkey Creek.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is investigating this tragic helicopter crash. This crash comes seven months after two people died when a light plane collided with a helicopter over Western Australia’s Gascoyne region. The collision occurred as the two aircraft were conducting a feral goat culling program in the Kennedy Range National Park, 170km east of Carnarvon.

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September 12, 2008

NTSB Report - Robinson Helicopter Crash Montana

NTSB Report # DFW08FA218
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 29, 2008 in Ridgedale, MO
Aircraft: Robinson R44 II, registration: N41411
Injuries: 2 Fatal. 

On August 29, 2008, at approximately 1615 central standard time (CST), a Robinson R44 II, N41411, registered to and operated by Central Illinois Air Corp as a 14 CFR Part 91 flight, crashed during cruise flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan had been filed. The helicopter was substantially damaged by the impact forces and post crash fire. The flight instructor and a private pilot, who were the only occupants, were fatally injured. The helicopter was on a new aircraft delivery flight from Torrance, California to the delivery destination in Mattoon, Illinois, and had departed the Shawnee Municipal Airport (KSNL) Shawnee, Oklahoma en route to an intermediate stop at the West Plains Municipal Airport (KUNO) West Plains, Missouri.

Two witnesses in a small boat approximately a half mile from the crash scene were watching the helicopter in normal cruise when the helicopter descended slightly and then suddenly nosed over in an attitude they demonstrated as approximately 60 degrees nose down. After the descending helicopter passed from their view behind a ridgeline they then heard a “boom” and saw a column of smoke.

The weather reported at the Boone County Airport (KHRO) Harrison, Arkansas at 1553 CST, 17 miles southeast of the accident site, was10 miles visibility with few clouds at 6,000 feet.

Aircraft maintenance documents at the manufacturer’s facility showed the helicopter had accumulated 4.0 hours total time, with an engine total time of 4.0 hours at the time the helicopter departed that facility on August 28, 2008. The initial airworthiness certificate had been issued on August 18, 2008.

The helicopter was recovered to Dawson Aircraft at Clinton, Arkansas, for continued investigation. NOTE: This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

SOURCE: NTSB

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September 10, 2008

California Helicopter Crash NTSB Findings

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) the helicopter that crashed on Aug. 5, killing nine and seriously injuring four people, lost power to its main rotor as it was taking off. This preliminary finding explains why witnesses saw the Sikorsky S-61N take off and move more slowly up and forward than usual from the remote helibase. The early NTSB report does not state the reason for the loss of power to the rotor.

The firefighting helicopter, operated by Carson Helicopters was assigned to bring about 50 firefighters out of the Trinity Alps. It had completed two trips, and went to refuel at a helibase in Weaverville and to pick up additional firefighters at the 6,000-foot-elevation backcountry site and was leaving when the nose and rotor struck nearby trees. The chopper crashed and landed onto its side and quickly was consumed by fire.

SOURCE:

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September 9, 2008

Helicopter Terrain Avoidance

What is Terrain Avoidance, and why don’t helicopters use it?

Until the helicopter crash, it was a routine flight. On March 23, 2004, an Era Aviation helicopter was transporting eight crewmembers to the drilling ship Discovery Spirit, 180 miles off the Texan coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the weather was clear, the helicopter flew in total darkness during the early night flight, leaving the flight crew with no point of reference over the Gulf. At about 7:30 pm and 70 miles into their journey, the Sikorsky S-76A++ helicopter slammed into the water at full cruising speed, killing both crewmembers and all eight passengers.

What caused the helicopter to crash? A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that both the pilot and co-pilot were certified and qualified, the helicopter was in perfect working condition (except for its Flight Voice Recorder), and that weather was not a factor.

“The helicopter crashed into the water at a high airspeed, a shallow descent angle, and a near-level roll attitude,” reads the accident report. This led investigators to realize that the cause of the accident was a “controlled flight into terrain.” In other words, the pilots did not notice that they were flying lower and lower until it finally ran out of room and hit the Gulf waters.

Controlled Flight into Terrain

Controlled flight into the terrain is more common than you might think. It sounds almost ridiculous, that trained pilots would simply fly into water, the ground, or the side of a mountain without taking evasive action. But the reality is that controlled flight into terrain or CFIT happens all the time. In the case of the Era Aviation flight described above, the pilots would not have seen their gradual descent into the water because it was pitch black (though they were supposed to be periodically checking their instruments).

In other cases, weather may play a factor. In the case of airplanes, instrument landings during night or bad weather have caused the plane to fly into hills and other objects near the airport.

For these reasons, commercial airliners now use Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems or TAWS. If a plane is flying too low, or is headed towards an object like a mountain, flashing lights and a recorded warning tell the pilots to pull up. These systems have reduced CFIT accidents to almost zero – for those aircraft that have them.

The problem is that private planes and helicopters, both considered to be “Class C” types of aircraft, do not require them. The NTSB report on the March 23, 2004 accident specifically states that: “If a terrain awareness and warning system had been installed aboard the accident helicopter, the system’s aural and visual warning should have provided the flight crew with ample time to recognize that the helicopter was descending toward the water, initiate the necessary corrective actions, and recover from the descent.”

Even EMS helicopters, which as an industry suffers an accident rate approaching military helicopters in combat, do not require TAWS – and most accidents occur at night or in bad weather conditions, and often involve controlled flight into terrain.

Both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommend helicopters use a TAWS system. However, the FAA stated that it could not mandate them because “nuisance” alarms would cause too many problems for the lower-flying helicopters. It is looking at ways to implement a helicopter TAWS (or H-TAWS) system, but until use of such devices is mandated, few companies will be willing to invest in this expensive safety feature.

Fault Lies with Operators, Not Government

Yes, government agencies like the FAA are charged with helping ensure that any type of aviation flight is safe. But ultimately it is up to the operators to ensure the safety of their helicopter flights.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a helicopter crash, contact the Willis Firm right now for free and professional advice about your legal rights. You may be entitled to compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. But nobody is going to just give it to you. Get David P. Willis fighting on your side to ensure you get the settlement you deserve.

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Necessity of EMS Helicopter Transports

Are all EMS helicopter transports necessary?

Undeniably, there are situations where emergency medical services (EMS) require helicopter transport to get a patient to a hospital quickly. Sometimes it is because of the terrain, such as an accident or injury on the side of a mountain. Sometimes it is because of the severity of the injury including major head and internal injuries after a highway accident. Sometimes it is simply a matter of distance, where ground transportation would take too long to reach the nearest hospital.

However there are many cases when EMS helicopters are not required. One independent study of patients transported to hospital by helicopter found that most patients – at least two-thirds – were being transported with non-life-threatening injuries. In fact a relatively large number of patients flown (10%) had injuries that did not even require hospitalization.

Given the identified risks of air ambulance flights (not to mention the added expense), are these transports necessary? The authors of the study seem to think not, and called for a better method of assessing patients on the ground to identify if their injuries require the speed and risk of EMS helicopter transport. This, the authors say, will avoid “helicopter overutilization”.

Helicopter Overutilization a Growing Problem

In the 1970s and 80s, there were studies that suggested patients had a better chance of recovery if transported to hospital by helicopter. Many hospitals acted on this information by creating their own air ambulance programs.

But then two things happened. First, hospitals began cutting back expenses by closing their own programs and subcontracting EMS helicopter services to private companies. Second, the EMS helicopter industry successfully lobbied government to raise Medicare reimbursements for helicopter transports. Suddenly this became a very lucrative business with a high demand for private operating companies to take over services.

Soon helicopters were being dispatched instead of ground ambulances for no apparent reason – except that the private EMS operators would be able to bill higher. Nobody ever seriously challenged the practice, even as transportation costs rose, and as accident rates for air ambulances approached those of military helicopters in combat. Generally it was assumed that helicopter transport was the fastest and safest method of transporting patients.

Today, there are 750 to 800 air ambulances flying the skies. They are given special permission to fly into bad weather and night conditions, they “heroically” attempt dangerous maneuvers that increase safety risks for crew and patients, and, perhaps worst of all, the industry as a whole is one of the least-regulated in U.S. aviation.

This and a whole list of other factors are adding up to disastrous results. From 2000 to July 2005, there were 84 EMS helicopter crashes killing 60 people. According to those numbers, between 10% and 15% of all EMS helicopters nationwide crashed in less than five years.

Now we are at a point where studies are showing that in almost all cases, there are no medical benefits to transporting patients by helicopter rather than by ground ambulance. Yet crash statistics continue to climb. If passengers knew that the EMS helicopter transporting them had a 1 in 10 chance of crashing in the next five years, how many would choose ground transport instead?

Find Out More About Your Case

If you or a loved one has been injured during an EMS helicopter flight, contact David P. Willis to find out your legal options. We will give you a free and comprehensive case review, let you know what your rights are, and if necessary, help you fight to get the compensation you deserve. Call us Toll-Free right now to start your free assessment, or email us for more information.

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FAA and EMS Helicopter Crashes

What is the FAA doing to prevent EMS helicopter crashes?

The average number of EMS helicopter crashes continues to trend upwards. In 1990, there was one helicopter accident involving EMS with no fatalities, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) records. In 1994, there were four helicopter crashes and six fatalities. In 1998, 11 accidents and eight fatalities. In 2004, the worst year yet, there were 19 EMS helicopter crashes, 29 deaths, seven major injuries, and three minor injuries.

Most of these accidents happened at night or during bad weather. And most involved crashing into the ground, the side of mountains, and other types of terrain.

Generally speaking the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for providing oversight to the EMS helicopter and airplane industry. But the reality is that the Administration does not have the resources to inspect all operators effectively – and the number of operators is growing every year. Not surprisingly, most of their efforts are focused on the airline industry. So what is the FAA doing to help combat the rising number of accidents?

FAA Releases Preliminary Fact Sheet

On June 30, 2008 the FAA released a Fact Sheet entitled “EMS Helicopter Safety.” In this document, the agency states that it will not be making any new rules (though it states it may do so in the future) but instead wants to prompt “significant short-term safety gains that do not require rulemaking.” These include:

• Encouraging risk management training
• Suggesting better pilot training for night flights
• Suggesting better pilot training for bad weather conditions
• Promoting technology use
• Providing “airline-type FAA oversight”

Unfortunately, many experts suspect that without sufficient rulemaking, the first four of these points will largely go unheeded. The last point may simply be impossible because the number of FAA inspectors is actually shrinking nationwide; any inspectors assigned to EMS helicopter safety will have to come from some other sector in the industry.

It doesn’t take an aviation expert to realize that with rising fuel costs and increased competition, independent operators will be looking to cut costs wherever possible. And that means not investing in night vision goggles and other fancy gadgets, or extra training beyond what the law demands.

Further, because the industry is growing so rapidly, the quality of pilots may be watered down. Instead of the best 100 flying in the air, the cut-off mark may be now the best 1,000.

When you take all these factors into account, it is not surprising that there are so many EMS helicopters crashes.

Are FAA Actions Really “Actions”?

As part of the June 2008 Fact Sheet, the FAA lists a number of “actions” it has taken to help reduce the number of accidents. However, some might say they are not so much actions as panel discussions, advisories, recommendations, and lists of best practices. The only thing approaching a concrete action to regulate the industry is the formation of the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which is “considering” areas of change.

But things that might really make a difference like a mandatory Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS) to help warn pilots before they hit the ground or a mountain are being approached slowly. On the one hand, the FAA states that it “supports the voluntary implementation of (TAWS)” but on the other says that it doesn’t want to mandate them yet. Because helicopters generally fly lower to the ground, nuisance warnings “could negatively impact the crew’s response to a valid alert.”

It is true that the FAA is collecting research on systems specifically designed for helicopters, so-called H-TAWS. But with EMS helicopter flights becoming as dangerous as military flights in battle, you might think the process should be speeded up.

Regardless of FAA’s actions or inactions, the bottom line is that the operator is responsible for your safety during an EMS. This includes the actual EMS company, as well as possibly the hospitals who requested the flight, other helicopter operators involved in an accident, and other possible parties as well. Finding out who is to blame for your injuries can quickly become a complicated matter.

Call David P. Willis for a free case assessment if you or a loved one has been injured in an EMS helicopter accident. No matter where you are located in the country, we may be able to help you get the compensation you deserve to cover medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. At the very least, you will have a better understanding of your rights and a good idea of the compensation you may be entitled to. With this information, you will be able to make a more informed decision.

Contact us Toll-Free to start your free assessment today.

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