Ned@HeliOps Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Yet another EMS accident in the USA, whats going on there. ??? Two Helicopters Collide In Arizona At least seven people have been killed after two medical helicopters collided in mid-air near a All three people on board one of the helicopters, including a patient and the pilot, died in the crash in Flagstaff, according to Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Four others were killed and three people were critically wounded, he added. The federal official could not confirm whether any of the victims were killed on the ground. A brush fire covering 10 acres broke out after the crash, but authorities were able to put it out, said Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Gerry Blair. The cause of the collision, which happened near Flagstaff Medical Centre, is being investigated. Two news helicopters collided while covering a car chase last summer near Phoenix, Arizona, killing all four people on board. Flagstaff is about 130 miles north of Phoenix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRag Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Neville, I used to work EMS and I can't figure it out either. Have the mins for hiring pilots (and mechanics) slipped, is competition so stiff now that it's revenue at all cost? What does the self appointed and all-so-important talking heads at CAMTS think? Personally, I think the aircraft are getting used like a ground ambulance and being opterated as such. Who's running the show? Med Crews or hospitals that really don't fully understand how this works? Someone needs to pull the curtain back at CAMTS and see what this scam is all about. (yep, I'm bitter...) How about HAI, maybe they could put some effort into this and not handing out awards. Last time the FAA "thought" about doing something, it was on the Part 91 legs of the flight. With patients onboard, these were Part 135 revenue flights. This should get interesting. Unfortunate for sure. I think the EMS Operators have had ample time to correct this in house. Now the FAA and lawyers will take over. This is getting a little crazy. 10 people get sick from tomatoes and the gov't goes nuts. Helicopters fall out of the sky and in a week it's old news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212wrench Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I think (and I don't know a lot about the EMS enviroment) you would find its related to money. A bit of a generalization I know, but probably true. I was at Bell talking with the mechanic for an EMS program that was being operated by the hospital. His biggest complaint was having to deal with the money guys as they didn't have an understanding of the aviation world. For instance, he purchased a set of rotor blades to replace a time x'd set of blades and the hospital penny pushers gave him a real dressing down over why he bought them from Bell without bidding them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRag Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 Money is an issue but I think you nailed what I see as a big part of the problem. MEDICAL PEOPLE calling the shots on an aircraft. Like I said earlier, treating a helicopter like a ground ambulance is bad news. I did the EMS gig, watching nurses or hospital admin types run a program is like watching a monkey fornicate with a football. Actually the monkey is more fun, generally he won't make a dumb decision and get someone killed. I'd like to think there will be changes, but in a week we'll be back to the EMS wild west show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciphap Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Good point gomer. Good question parafiddle. Does anyone know or have a good guess what the average EMS pilot age is? And maybe the age most pilots retire from EMS into something a bit less challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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