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An Emergency within an Emergency: Medical Helicopter Accidents Increase

On September 27, 2009, a medical helicopter went down in a small town, northeast of Charleston, South Carolina. There were no survivors in this accident. The National Transportation Safety Board says all of the helicopter parts have been accounted for and there is no indication what went wrong before it crashed in a remote area about 20 feet from a logging road. NTSB notes there was rain in the area and the helicopter was in between two intense thunderstorms. An examination of the site indicates the helicopter may have landed nose down and inverted then burst into flames. However, there is was no cockpit voice records on board as it is not required under federal law.

Ironically, this was just one day after the National Transportation Safety Board issued 21 recommendations as to how to make air ambulance flights safer. After the worst year in emergency medical helicopters crashes - 12 fatal helicopter medical ambulance accidents that killed 35 people between December 2007 and October 2008 - the NTSB held hearings push for more safety measures to be incorporated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and mandated on air ambulance operators.

Many of the recommendations proposed by the NTSB related to tying Medicare reimbursements to safety measures. Essentially, Medicare would pay for flights where pilots have received safety training and comply with standards developed by Medicare. Currently reimbursement is not covered by insurance companies and the NTSB was concerned that companies were cutting corners and avoiding capital investments and improvements to maintain profit.

In addition, the NTSB recommendations included minimum safety accreditation standards for helicopter emergency medical services, increase safety include additional pilot training; greater air pathways dedicated to emergency medical transports; the use of autopilot to help single pilots; and wider use of night-vision goggles and terrain awareness monitors.

According to a Washington Post investigation, the number of helicopters has doubled every decade since 1980 and now stands at 830. However, unlike the commercial airline industry which has stringent federal standards to abide by, there are relatively few safety standards for helicopters and their pilots.
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