William Atkins
Wednesday, 04 February 2009 20:28
Science -
Health
Page 2 of 3
In fact,Dr. Blumen stated that between December 2007 and November 2008, nine deadly crashes in the United States involving air-ambulance crews have killed 35 people.
The New York Times article “
Hearings to Address Medical Helicopter Safety” reports on the safety background of the Chicago, Illinois air-ambulance accident in October 2008.”
It stated,
“But the Chicago accident, like others preceding it, might have been prevented. The helicopter, which had clipped the support wire of a radio station tower while flying at night, lacked up-to-date safety equipment like a device to alert the pilot to towers and other nearby obstacles."
However, at this same NTSB hearing, Sylvain Séguin, a vice-president with Canadian Helicopters (the largest provider of medical helicopter service in Canada), reported the number of deaths in Canada that involved air-ambulance crashes since 1977. He said that number is zero.
Séguin stated that the Canadian government requires two pilots inside each of the Canadian helicopters (as opposed to only one pilot in U.S. helicopters) and much more government regulation is required for such air-ambulance flights.
He especially noted that flights are often restricted under adverse weather conditions. Séguin also noted that the Canadian government funds such medial flights and the aircraft are
“equipped with the latest safety devices,” as reported in the Wall Street Journal article “
Study Spotlights Helicopter Dangers.”
The USA Today article “
Expert: Air-ambulance crews among most likely to die” states,
“The NTSB hearing is trying to pinpoint what could be driving the recent increase in fatal crashes. Several witnesses raised concerns about whether competition to make the helicopter flights — which can pay as much as $10,000 — could be driving up the accident rates.”
Page three concludes.
