The number of medical air transport crashes are at an alarming level as last Sunday's crash in Arizona added to the tally another six fatalities and brings the number of serious medical aircraft accidents this year to ten and the death toll to sixteen.
Medical airlift is a way to quickly transport critically injured accident victims or individuals requiring immediate medical attention to a care facility and is a saving grace for many. However, a
National news report uncovers a much different story as more rescuers and rescued are being killed during these attempts.
On Monday, CBS news reported that two medical helicopters crashed near a medical center in Arizona, killing six passengers, injuring one and causing a 10 acre brush fire:
The collision Sunday near Flagstaff Medical Center killed both patients, critically injured a nurse, and rained debris near a residential area. Two emergency workers suffered minor burns in an explosion in the wreckage of one of the aircraft.
Witnesses said the weather was clear, and neither helicopter seemed to have mechanical problems, CBS News reports.
The two medical helicopters were apparently trying to land at the same time. One was en route from the Grand Canyon with a medical emergency.
The AP reported Federal Safety Officials state the number accidents are at a "disturbing" level. The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Mark Rosenker said of the critical situation "We're very concerned about that. We're going to work very, very hard to make sure we understand exactly what happened here ... and make recommendations to prevent it from happening again."
So far this year, there have been six medical helicopter crashes and three other medical air crashes.
In February, three died in Texas when a medical helicopter crashed in South Padre Island.
In May, a Wisconsin medical helicopter crashed after it dropped off its patient, killing all three. Also in May, a medical helicopter crashed on the roof of a Grand Rapids, Michigan hospital, creating an evacuation of maternity patients.
On June 8th, the pilot, two flight nurses and a patient were all four killed when a medical helicopter crashed in the Sam Houston National Forest on its way to a Houston, Texas hospital. Another medical helicopter crashed near Prescott, Arizona injuring all three passengers. No one was killed in that crash.
Due to the increasing number of crashes over the past fifteen years, the NTSB has launched an investigation.
Some cite the number of medical air vehicles in the sky as a contributing factor, with the number doubling to 800 transports since 2002 according to the Association of Air Medical Services. The number of hours logged have also doubled between 1991 and 2005. Also, according the association, over 70 percent of the flights are hospital to hospital missions for reasons like specialty medical care instead of the "dramatic" rescues portrayed on the television.
In light of a 2006 report written in response to a 2004 and 2005 trend, the NTSB recommended "stricter flight rules and improved accident-avoidance equipment", the FAA accepted the boards report recommendations but has not implemented all of them according to a
New York Times report.
The Flagstaff tragedy is the second major helicopter crash in Arizona, where just over a year ago, two news choppers collided during a car chase, killing four people.
Definitely gives reason to rethink the term "care" flight for sure.
