Fatalities double; questions raised
By Catherine Wilkinson
Daily Press - Victorville (California)
Copyright 2006 Daily Press
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
OAK HILLS, Calif. — Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board continue to comb through wreckage in the Cajon Pass “examining everything” they say that might reveal why Mercy Air 2 crashed on Sunday.
However, the tragedy has raised new questions as to how safe Emergency Medical Aviation is.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration investigation earlier this year, the number of medevac fatalities doubled to 62 in the 2001 to 2005 period from the previous five years.
Three out of four of those accidents occurred when no patient was on board the aircraft — a fact aviation lawyer and helicopter-pilot Justin Green said is attributed to lax regulations by the FAA.
Green’s research on medical transportation shows it’s the riskiest kind of flight operation today — unlike commercial aviation pilots who have strict mandates enforced by the FAA.
He said standards for pilot qualifications and use of safety equipment are totally at the discretion of the operator and adds operators are not required to train or hire pilots certified under instrument flight rules.
Stacey Friedman said those stricter regulations could have prevented the death of her flight nurse sister and the crew.
“Shortly after her death, the NTSB finished an extensive investigation on the air ambulance industry,” Friedman said. “They came up with four safety recommendations, which have not yet been mandated.”
In January 2006 she continues, the NTSB asked the FAA to require all EMS flights fly under Part 135 aviation code. Part 135 requires stricter weather minimums — a 1,200 foot ceiling — and 3 miles visibility once a patient or organ is aboard.
Friedman said those requirements change when the patient is no longer on the aircraft. Now the crew can reposition to the Part 91 aviation code.
“You can take off with visual flight rules,” she said. “It may be clear when you take off and clear where you’re going, but you don’t know what’s going to happen in between.”
Much was the case in Mercy Air 2. Weather conditions were not favorable for flying through the pass. Fog was heavy due to a marine layer that rolled in at 4,000 feet and winds were said to be erratic.
Flying into the unknown is not uncommon, said Green. Many EMS operators don’t have a comprehensive dispatch procedure to help pilots determine whether to accept a mission. Therefore, they may not have at their disposal landing information, weather conditions, maintenance issues or crew rest factors.