Air Med Crashes Keep Killing Providers; FAA Takes Notice

     The fourth deadly air-medical crash in six months had the Federal Aviation Administration taking another hard look at practices and equipment. Then the fifth happened.

     The June collision of two helicopters in Flagstaff, AZ, killed six and critically injured another, bringing to 19 the number killed in crashes of medical helicopters since Dec. 30, 2007. Also in June, paramedic Stephanie Waters, flight nurse Jana Bishop, pilot Charles Wayne Kirby and their patient died when their PHI Air Medical helicopter crashed near Huntsville, TX. That followed the University of Wisconsin Med Flight crash reported last month, and other accidents off South Padre Island, TX, and in Cherokee, AL.

     Nonfatal crashes also continue to occur; two days before the Flagstaff crash, three crew members were injured in a separate medical helicopter crash 50 miles away in Ash Fork, AZ.

     The Houston Chronicle reported that the PHI crew was flying a mission aborted by another service due to low clouds. A PHI spokesman said the team accepted the job after consulting with a company advisor who was an experienced pilot. The helicopter struck trees, according to information from the NTSB.

     The first four of the recent deadly crashes occurred at night, with pilots having no visual reference points on the ground, USA Today reported. As recently as 2006, the NTSB issued recommendations for flying at night and in poor weather, urging the use of night-vision goggles and technology to warn pilots flying too close to the ground, and that more attention be paid to risk factors like bad weather. The FAA has not made the recommendations mandatory, and none of the pilots in the first four crashes were wearing night-vision goggles.

     The Arizona choppers collided during the day near Flagstaff Medical Center, where they were both bringing patients. FMC does not have flight controllers.

LINE-OF-DUTY DEATHS

• Paramedic Stephanie Waters, flight nurse Jana Bishop, pilot Charles Wayne Kirby and their passenger were killed on June 8 when their PHI Air Medical helicopter crashed in the Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, TX.
• Hall and Sussex County (DE) paramedic Stephanie L. Callaway died on June 17 when her ambulance crashed after a deer ran into the road in front of it. Two colleagues were injured and hospitalized: EMT Brice Hickman, listed as serious at press time, and driver Michael Wissman, who was stable. The patient they were transporting was also killed.

NEWS IN BRIEF
     The National Preparedness Portal offers a venue for EMS, public safety, public health and emergency management to collaborate on preparedness projects; see www.nationalpreparednessportal.org … The IAFC's new Technology Council will work to promote the wider use of technological solutions within the emergency services … Oklahoma City went live in June with the largest city-owned and -operated municipal Wi-Fi mesh network in the world … Prominent EMS supply vendors Tri-anim and Bound Tree Medical announced their merger … The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp.'s Call2Recycle program offers free recycling of rechargeable batteries for the emergency services; see www.call2recycle.org … EMS Magazine editorial advisory board member Chuck Kearns, executive director of the Pinellas Co. (Fla.) EMS Authority, has been named to chair the Florida EMS Advisory Council … Ambulance companies in Delaware will have to make seat belt extenders available for larger providers following a decision by the state Fire Prevention Commission … The Public Safety Group of Cygnus Business Media, publisher of EMS and EMS Product News magazines and www.EMSResponder.com, will partner with the Cumberland Valley Firemen's Association's Responder Safety Institute to share expanded content aimed at reducing injuries among emergency responders. Among the offerings available on www.respondersafety.com is a 90-second video, Accepting the Challenge to be Visible, discussing use of the RSI-designed breakaway public safety vest at roadside emergency scenes … The Houston City Council approved hiring "tele-nurses" to work with 9-1-1 dispatchers and offer nonemergency callers first-aid advice or help finding a clinic or doctor … The Yvorra Leadership Development Foundation (YLD) announced a September 15 deadline for applications for its 2008 scholarship award competition. The YLD is a nonprofit group that promotes leadership development in EMS and the fire service; see www.yld.org … A case study of the San Diego Medical Services Enterprise's TapChart electronic patient documentation software was recognized as a 2008 Laureate in the Computerworld Honors Program … Missouri will designate stroke and STEMI centers under a new "time critical diagnosis" law … ZOLL Medical Corporation was named one of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies by Forbes for the second consecutive year.