Medical Helicopter Crash

The tragedy of any medical helicopter crash is that the pilot and healthcare workers are all there for one reason: to safely transport patients to a hospital or other medical facility. But some are wondering how “safe” helicopter medevac really is. As of early July 2008, there were six medical helicopter crashes for the year, and three other medical aircraft accidents, all of which claimed the lives of 16 people. Thirteen of those deaths happened in May and June, making it one of the deadliest two-month periods in industry history.

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One crash involved two medevac helicopters near a Flagstaff, AZ hospital. Both were traveling from different directions and collided about a half-mile from the hospital on approach to the landing pad. In all, seven people died and two were seriously injured.

This accident is not unusual – in fact it is part of a disturbing trend. According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stats, there were 14 air ambulance crashes in 2007, resulting in 24 deaths. In 2006, there were 13 accidents and 10 deaths.

Medical Helicopter Crash Rate Too High, Some Say

After a rash of similar medical helicopter crashes in 2004 and 2005, the NTSB opened an investigation and compiled a number of recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). But, says NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker, the FAA may not be moving fast enough to implement these changes – changes that could save lives.

“The latest spate of accidents has given the board concern that the FAA may not be moving as quickly as necessary,” he told the New York Times.

In reality, the problem has been growing since the 1990s. In the six years from 2002 to 2008, the number of medical helicopters doubled to about 800 operating across the US. Some are operated by the hospitals themselves, but others are operated by private companies looking to cash in on the growing boom.

And booming it is, for a number of reasons. Emergency rooms in rural areas are closing down, forcing medevacs by ground and air to other hospitals. But many medical helicopters are transferring non-emergency patients from one facility to another – in essence, they are not EMS helicopters so much as medical taxis.

“The vast majority of patients could have done well in a ground ambulance,” Dr. Bryan Bledsoe, professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and former flight paramedic told the New York Times. “There is pressure to fly because most companies are owned by publicly-owned entities.”

Who’s Overseeing the Helicopter Medevac Industry?

Regulation is another part of the problem. Although all helicopter companies must follow FAA rules, inspections are rare due to manpower shortages. This, coupled with rising fuel costs and other financial pressures means that safety equipment like improved accident-avoidance systems and in some cases even basic maintenance procedures are left to slide.

Still, pilot error is the number one cause of medical helicopter crashes. As in the Flagstaff accident above, there is no air traffic control around a hospital, so pilots must be on the lookout themselves for other aircraft. But the simple fact is, until there is greater regulation of the industry, medevac helicopter accidents will likely continue to rise.

Have You Been In a Helicopter Accident?

If you or a loved one has been injured in a medical helicopter crash, you have the right to seek compensation for your hospital bills, lost work, and pain and suffering. Call David P. Willis today for a free consultation and learn your rights. No matter what the cause of the accident, the air ambulance company, hospitals, and perhaps other parties all have the responsibility of ensuring you arrive safely.

Do not wait – vital evidence could disappear and your rights could be severely compromised if you do not act quickly. Call us right now for free advice and then decide if seeking compensation is the right course of action for you.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Three medical evacuation helicopter crew members were killed early Tuesday when their helicopter crashed while enroute to a traffic crash to evacuate a victim in central Arkansas . A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman stated that the Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter crashed at approximately 4:00 a.m. near the community of Scotland in Van Buren County, Arkansas.  Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were on site at the crash site conducting the investigation. Apparently there were no distress calls from the helicopter. Scotland is about 80 miles north of Little Rock in central Arkansas.

Air Evac Lifeteam Helicopter Crash Site in Arkansas

Pilot Kenneth Robertson, flight nurse Kenneth Meyer, Jr., and flight paramedic Gayla Gregory all were killed, according to an Air Evac spokesman. Van Buren County Coroner Dorothy Branscum said the victims were killed on impact. “I would say they might’ve seen it coming, but that was it. The helicopter was just melted and it was just in pieces,” according to Branscum.

Investigators said autopsies, which were to be performed by the state medical examiner’s office, would help determine whether a medical emergency among the crew could have caused the accident. It also was too early to say whether “a mechanical anomaly” caused the helicopter to break up in the air, or if the aircraft struck trees that caused parts to fall off as it went down, according to a National Transportation Safety Board investigator Tuesday evening.

“They were flying under VFR (visual flight rules),” the FAA spokesman stated. “It also doesn’t appear they were talking to any air traffic controllers at the time.” No patients were aboard the helicopter. The Bell 206 helicopter, built in 1978, was registered to Air Evac EMS Inc. which is based in West Plains, Missouri.

According to the Walnut Grove Fire Department, the department alarm went off just before 4 a.m. with firefighters on the scene about eight minutes later. They found burning wreckage and immediately began work to see if there were any survivors. The wreckage was scattered around the area with the main part of the helicopter in the woods next to a clearing near the Walnut Grove Church.

The crew was based in Vilonia, Arkansas. Air Evac operates Med Evac helicopter services in 13 states and has experienced several fatal helicopter crashes in recent years.  In March of 2010, three medi-vac helicopter crew members were killed in a helicopter crash in Tennessee. In 2008, an Air Evac helicopter crashed in an Indiana cornfield killing three people. In 2007, another three-member crew was killed when an Air Evac helicopter crashed in Colbert County, Alabama.

“This is a tragic day for us here at Air Evac Lifeteam,” the spokesman said. “These were members of our family and we are devastated at this loss. Our focus at this time is on providing support for the family and friends of these helicopter crew members.”

The widower of a Waldorf emergency medical technician who perished in a September 2008 medevac air ambulance helicopter crash in District Heights has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that air traffic controller negligence in failing to guide the aircraft to a safe landing led to the death of his wife.

Kenneth Mallard, whose wife, Tonya Mallard, 39, of Waldorf was an EMT for the Waldorf Volunteer Rescue Squad, filed a $7 million federal lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration on July 21st, 2010 in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. The lawsuit claims the FAA did not do everything necessary to ensure a safe landing for the Maryland State Police Trooper 2 air ambulance helicopter. The attorney for Kenneth Mallard stated that Mr. Mallard deserves to be compensated because of the negligence of the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controllers.

Tonya Mallard was one of four people who died on Sept. 27, 2008, aboard the air ambulance helicopter that crashed into a wooded area of Walker Mill Regional Park.

State police pilot Stephen J. Bunker, 59, of Waldorf; Trooper 1st Class Mickey C. Lippy, 34, of Westminster; and Ashley J. Younger, 17, of Waldorf also died in the crash. Jordan Wells of Waldorf, then 18, was the lone crash survivor. He later filed a $50 million personal-injury lawsuit against the FAA that was denied.

In May 2010, Lippy’s widow, Christina P. Lippy of Westminster, also filed a lawsuit against the FAA for $15 million on behalf of her husband, a Maryland State Police flight paramedic.

The Mallard lawsuit states that Tonya Mallard and all of the occupants should have been properly warned about adverse weather conditions and that she suffered “pre-impact fright” because she was aware of the difficulties Bunker had with navigating the helicopter before she died from the impact of the crash. FAA air traffic controllers gave him outdated flight visibility information that made navigation difficult for Bunker, court documents state.

The helicopter came from a vehicle crash in Waldorf that involved Younger and Wells and was en route to Joint Base Andrews near Camp Springs, where an ambulance was waiting to transport them to Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. Foggy weather conditions prevented the helicopter from going directly to Prince George’s Hospital Center.

During the flight Bunker could not pick up a GlideScope, a navigation system to help guide an aircraft to the runway. While in contact with the air traffic controller at Andrews’ tower, the controller replied, “It’s [the GlideScope] showing green on the panel, but you’re the only aircraft we’ve had in a long time, so I don’t really know if it’s working or not,” court documents state.

Shortly before midnight, Bunker requested ground-based radar called an “airport surveillance radar approach” to reach the runway, but was told by an FAA air traffic controller at Andrews that she could not give him that service, court documents state. The court documents did not indicate whether the air traffic controller who discussed the GlideScope with Bunker was the same one who could not provide “airport surveillance radar approach” service.

No more attempts were made to contact Bunker before the helicopter crashed in Walker Mill Regional Park.

A spokesman for the FAA Eastern Region office, stated that the FAA cannot comment on pending lawsuits such as Lippy’s and Mallard’s.

TUCSON – A LifeNet air ambulance helicopter operated by Air Methods Corporation crashed near Park & Glenn Avenue Wednesday afternoon. Three crew members on board the helicopter died as a result of injuries sustained when it crashed into a yard in midtown Tucson at 1:40 p.m. Air Methods Corporation says the EuroCopter AS350 was based in Douglas.

The pilot has been identified as 61-year-old Alexander Kelley. Kelley was an experienced pilot, and had been with Air Methods since 2002. The paramedic has been identified as 28-year-old Brenda French, and the flight nurse as 41-year-old Parker Summons.  They were en route from Marana to Douglas. No patients were on board at the time of the crash.

An eyewitness said that the helicopter’s engine stalled then, started back up again.  According to the witness, “When it started back up he turned it to the other side, tried to get it back up but it just slammed down.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.  Company officials are en route to the area.

In a statement, Aaron Todd, the CEO of Air Methods Corporation said, “This is a sad day for all of us at Air Methods and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of our employees who perished while on duty.”

KINGFISHER, OK — Two people were killed and another was severely injured when an EagleMed medical helicopter crashed in Kingfisher County, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Spokesperson Chris West.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the EagleMed helicopter was en route from Intergris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City to an Okeene hospital 90 miles away when it went down, killing pilot Al Harrison and nurse Ryan Duke.

34-year-old Michael Eccard was stabilized and taken to OU Medical Center by helicopter. A spokeswoman at the OU Medical Center said he was in critical condition.  Eccard was the only survivor of the Thursday night helicopter crash.

The EagleMed helicopter crashed four miles south of Kingfisher just north of Okarche around 8 p.m. Thursday. The cause of the crash was unknown. 

Witnesses who saw the crash said they saw the helicopter go into a tail spin prior to clipping the tops of several trees.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and OSBI are currently investigating the accident.

Victims of an Alpine plane crash were remembered Monday. Roger Folger and his wife Mary Catherine Folger, 73, were among five people killed just after midnight Sunday when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Brewster County.

The crash occurred early Sunday morning as Mary Folger was being transported back to Midland International Airport via air ambulance. She was being taken to a hospital in Odessa after a serious fall injured a hip she recently had replaced, according to her son.

Air Ambulance Stat, the medical wing of Amarillo-based O’Hara Flying Service, temporarily halted service after the crash of one of its twin-engine Cessna 421 planes about a mile east of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport, a flight medic with the company.

The National Transportation Safety Board had investigators on site and had at least one agent from its transportation disaster assistance office, which provides assistance to those affected by plane crashes, in Alpine.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety reports, the plane was attempting to make an emergency landing, when it hit a rut in a muddy field, overturned and burned.

Medic Tracy Chambers, 42, of Alpine died in the crash, along with pilot Ted Caffarel, 59, of Beaumont also died in the crash.

Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said a rut in a field wasn’t to blame. Dodson said that shortly after take-off, the plane had begun to land on a small hill northeast of the airport, breaking off its landing gear before going off the other side of the slope. Dodson said it landed on some “grape-fruit-sized rocks” and there were several explosions.

“When the deputy got there, it was still on fire and upside down,” said Dodson, who said the heat from the explosions kept the deputy from being able to get any closer.

This is the second fatal air ambulance crash involving transportation of patients between Big Bend Regional Medical Center in Alpine and Odessa-Midland in 2004, four people were killed when Medical Center Hospital’s CareStar, a Bell 407 helicopter, crashed in a field near Pyote in Ward County.

“It’s obviously very premature to comment on that,” he said. “Right now, our thoughts are only on our parents.”