ABC World News (2/3, story 11, 2:45, Gibson) reported that investigators are looking "into why so many people are dying on emergency flights meant to save their lives. Fifty-three Medevac helicopters have crashed in the last five years."
NBC Nightly News (2/3, story 7, 1:15, Williams) reported that in the past ten years, "131 people have died in air ambulance crashes."
The Washington Post (2/4, B2, Johnson) adds that "the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] began a four-day hearing in Washington yesterday to examine a spike last year in fatal crashes of medical helicopters." Last year, "29 people died in 13 emergency medical helicopter crashes, incidents that safety experts attribute to human error, bad weather and other causes." The "crashes have intensified scrutiny of medical helicopter regulations, which safety experts say are more lax than general commercial aviation rules." While the "board does not plan to take action or make recommendations during the hearing," it does plan to "hear presentations from industry experts and question more than 40 witnesses, including pilots, private medical helicopter operators and Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] officials."
The Wall Street Journal (2/4, Pasztor) notes that "the safety board also began examining how powerful economic forces -- ranging from consolidation to how much the government will reimburse operators -- affect safety margins." Nearly "half of the world's roughly 26,000 choppers fly in the U.S. One industry representative testified that it's time for operators to become more aggressive in pursuing safety goals and embracing federal mandates."
Modern Healthcare (2/4, Zigmond) points out that "physician Kevin Hutton -- who spoke on behalf of the Association of Air Medical Services -- cited a few reasons why there is more growth in this industry today." Hutton said that individuals "who live in rural areas want time-dependent care." He added that "there has also been a regionalization of pediatric care and high-level neonatal care." According to Hutton, "limited ground capabilities, as well as physicians reducing the patients they care for because of malpractice issues, have also been contributing factors."
USA Today (2/4, Levin) adds that according to Ira Blumen, program director of the University of Chicago Aeromedical Network, "air-ambulance helicopters have the worst fatal crash record in aviation, and their crews are among the most likely to die on the job." Blumen added that "the rate of fatalities per 100,000 air-ambulance employees over the past 10 years exceeds other dangerous professions such as logging or deep-sea fishing." USA Today points out that "the accident statistics for the USA stand in stark contrast to Canada, which has not had a fatality since 1977." Canada, "unlike most companies in the United States...requires two pilots on each helicopter, and flights are conducted under more rigorous standards for weather, said Sylvain Séguin, a vice president of Canadian Helicopters."
On its website, CNN (2/3) reported that the NTSB "recommended to the FAA in January 2006 that all medical chopper operators be required to develop and implement risk evaluation programs, use dispatch and flight procedures that include up-to-date weather information, and install 'terrain awareness and warning systems' on their aircraft." Meanwhile, "a fourth recommendation would require medical flight operators to follow federal regulations regarding their flights." These "recommendations have not been fully implemented, the NTSB said."
According to Bloomberg News (2/4, Keane), "the hearing continues tomorrow with testimony from the Mayo Clinic, Honeywell International Inc., Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. and the FAA." UPI (2/4) also covers the story.
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