Report Notes Increase In Accident Fatalities In Recent Years.

The NTSB earlier this year held a four-day hearing focusing on the safety record of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services. The 35-page report released this week indicates that medical helicopter services provide a valuable contribution to the medical community, but that the overall safety record has declined in recent years.

The goal of the hearing, according to the Helicopter Association International online publication "Rotor News", was for the Safety Board to learn more about HEMS operations, in order to better evaluate the factors that contribute to accidents. The Board heard from numerous witnesses who deal with all elements of HEMS operations. The format of the hearing involved the questioning of several panels.  Forty-one witnesses were called, including Helicopter Association International (HAI) President, Matt Zuccaro, who is also Co-Chair of the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST), as well as representatives from the medical community, emergency services companies, the FAA, and others.

In the summary of the report, the NTSB said "Helicopter emergency medical systems (HEMS) provide an important service to the public, transporting seriously ill patients or donor organs to emergency care facilities. However, the number of accident fatalities during HEMS operations has increased over the last several years, raising questions about the safety of these operations. From 2003 through 2008, 85 HEMS accidents claimed 77 lives, and 2008 was the deadliest year on record for HEMS operations with 8 fatal accidents and 29 fatalities, up from 2 fatal accidents and 7 fatalities in 2007.1 This increase in fatalities and fatal accidents brought HEMS operations to the attention of Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as well as industry, the media, and the public. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also took notice, and in 2005, created a “HEMS Task Force” after observing the spike in HEMS accidents. The resulting FAA analysis of HEMS accidents identified three primary safety concerns: inadvertent IMC encounters, night operations, and CFIT. As a result, the FAA took many actions, mostly to impose voluntary guidance, including issuance of FAA Notice 8000.293."

File Photo

Among the findings are that HEMS operations in the United States in 2008 involved more than 800 helicopters, and that HEMS helicopters were involved in 264 accidents between 1972 and 2008. Weather was a significant factor in 19% of those accidents. Overall, however, The accident rate per 100,000 hours flown has decreased slowly but steadily since 2003. This rate has been lower than that for all helicopters and general aviation aircraft, but the fatal crash rate per 100,000 hours rose markedly in 2008.

The report also looks into how medical helicopter services are reimbursed, competition among emergency service providers, and flight dispatch procedures. Testimony was heard on safety equipment, training, corporate oversight, and federal regulations.

No conclusions were offered by this report. This was the third formal NTSB examination of HEMS. The previous hearings were held in 1998, and 2006.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov