Safety of Emergency Medical Services Flights - Examples

Examples

Of the 55 accidents that occurred between January 2002 and January 2005, the following seven were considered by the NTSB to provide the best examples of the safety issues involved:

• Salt Lake City, Utah (FTW03FA082). On January 10, 2003, an EMS helicopter crashed into terrain while maneuvering in dense fog on an aborted mission to pick up a patient. The pilot and flight paramedic were killed, and the flight nurse was seriously injured. Another service had attempted the same mission, but aborted due to deteriorating weather.
• Redwood Valley, California (LAX04FA076). On December 23, 2003, an EMS helicopter was en route to pick up a patient when it collided with mountainous terrain while operating in high winds and heavy rain. The pilot, flight nurse, and paramedic were killed.
• Dodge City, Kansas (CHI04FA066). On February 17, 2004, an EMS airplane crashed about 5 miles beyond Dodge City Regional Airport while on a repositioning flight. The pilot, flight paramedic, and flight nurse, who were at the end of a 14-hour duty day, were killed.
• Pyote, Texas (FTW04FA097). On March 21, 2004, an EMS helicopter crashed into terrain while maneuvering in reduced visibility conditions while transporting a patient. The pilot, flight paramedic, patient, and patient’s mother were killed, and the flight nurse was seriously injured.
• Newberry, South Carolina (CHI04MA182). On July 13, 2004, an EMS helicopter collided with trees shortly after picking up a patient from an accident site on an interstate highway. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and patient were killed. Three other flight crews previously turned down this mission due to unfavorable weather.
• Battle Mountain, Nevada (SEA04MA167). On August 21, 2004, an EMS helicopter crashed into mountainous terrain at night and in deteriorating weather conditions while transporting a patient along a direct route through mountainous terrain rather than taking an indirect route around the high terrain. The pilot, two medical crewmembers, patient, and patient’s mother were killed.
• Rawlins, Wyoming (DEN05FA051). On January 11, 2005, an EMS airplane that was operating in icing conditions crashed when it impacted terrain while en route to pick up a patient. The pilot and two medical crewmembers were killed, and a third medical crewmember sustained serious injuries.

These seven accidents were specifically cited, where applicable, in the report’s discussion of each safety issue. More detailed flight histories, as well as probable cause statements for these accidents, were provided in appendix A of the report.

In 2008, midair collisions of emergency flights caused the deaths of 28 crew members and patients.