New Date For Entries Is September 11, 2009

American Eurocopter has announced the deadline to apply for the third annual Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award has been extended until September 11, 2009. This prestigious award aims to promote aviation safety within the air medical community and American Eurocopter will contribute up to $10,000 to the winner to further their safety efforts.

Bill Bryant, the Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee explained, "Last year's winner, the Opportunities for Safety Improvement in Helicopter EMS (OSI-HEMS) research team, led by Dr. Ira Blumen at the University of Chicago, is using the $10,000 to support its efforts to complete a detailed analysis over 135 HEMS accidents from 1998 to 2009." Through this root cause analysis, specific problems have been identified and concrete recommendations will be made to compare the potential benefits, cost, effectiveness and feasibility of various interventions that can prevent HEMS accidents or reduce the impact of accidents that do occur.

The recipient of the first annual award was PHI, Inc. who was recognized for their contribution to our industry's safety by sharing the details of their comprehensive Enhanced Operational Control (EOC) system with the air medical community.

"This committee and the AAMS community are really looking forward to hearing from other operators to see what advancements have been made since 2008," continues Bryant.  "Since we are in the peak vacation season, we want to extend our deadline to ensure that every organization has the opportunity to apply."

All programs and operators who are members of the Association of Air Medical Service (AAMS) are eligible to apply, and may nominate themselves.

FMI: http://www.aams.org/Content/NavigationMenu/MemberServices/AnnualAwards/default.htm