Helicopter Emergency Medical Services HEMS

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Helicopter Emergency Medical Services(HEMS)
Presented to AMTC 2008 Date October 2008
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HEMS US Rotorcraft Accidents 98 04
Total HEMS accidents from Jan 1998 Dec
2004 85 Total HEMS Fatal Accidents
98-04 27 Total Fatalities 74 Total
Night HEMS Accidents 45 Total Night Fatal
Accidents 21 HEMS Accidents Involving Part
91 Operations(18 fatal) 59 HEMS Accidents
Involving Part 135 Operations(9 fatal) 26 HEMS
Fatal Accidents VFR into IMC 11 Twins
7 Singles 4 HEMS Fatal Accidents
IFR in IFR 1
Data source FAA EMS Task Force Analysis
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FY05 thru FY 07 US Fatal HEMS Accidents
FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008
EMS Fatal Accidents 8 3 1
8 Part 135 2 1 0 4
Part 91 6 2 1 4 EMS
Fatalities 15 3 3 31 Part 135
4 1 0 19 Part 91 11 2
3 12 mid-air between 2 HEMS
counted as 1 accident
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HEMS Since December 2007 Fiscal Year

• 9 Fatal HEMS accidents in past 10 months
• 35 Fatalities Since December 2007
• 4 - Fatal BK117 Alaska
• 3 Fatal B206L-3 Mississippi
• 3 Fatal AS350B2 Texas
• 3 Fatal EC-135T2 Wisconsin
• 4 Fatal B-407 Texas
• 7 Fatal Mid-air (2) B-407 Arizona
• 3 Fatal Bell 206L-1 Indiana (P/R flight)
• 4 Fatal AS365 Maryland
• 4 Fatal Bell 222 Illinois
• Common Denominators 7 at NIGHT!!!!!!!! CFIT WX???

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FY 2008 October thru September - US Rotorcraft
Accidents

• Total Rotorcraft Accidents 155 (26 Fatal
  Accidents)
• Same period, October 2006 August 2007 140
  Accidents (21 Fatal)
• Accident Operations Summary (Cumulative)
• 99 Part 91 (Includes some EMS and Gulf
  operations)
• 16 Public Use
• 19 Part 135 (Air Tour, Gulf, EMS,
  other)
• 16 Part 137 (Agriculture)
• 5 Part 133 (External Load)
• 0 Part 141
• 26 Fatal Accidents
• (11 - General Aviation, 3- Air Taxi, 8 EMS,
  1- Gulf, 2 - Public Use)
• 71 Fatalities
• (19 - General Aviation, 7 - Air Taxi, 31 - EMS,
  1- Gulf, 9 - Public Use, 1 Aerial Application,
  3 - Air Tour)

One EMS Accident involved 2 helicopters.
Counting as one accident rather than two.
Data Source FAA, NTSB Databases This report
only includes events classified as accidents and
does not include the tracked incidents. NTSB
may have classified some Public Use accidents as
Part 91, 133, or 137. Data published here may
not be classified same as NTSB classification
Data used contains deliberative information that
is not releasable outside the FAA
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FY 2008 US Rotorcraft Accidents
One EMS Accident involved 2 helicopters.
Counting as one accident rather than two.
One EMS Accident was on a Public Relations event,
not Air Medical Flight
Data Source FAA, NTSB Databases This report
only includes events classified as accidents and
does not include the tracked incidents NTSB may
have classified some Public Use accidents as Part
91, 133, or 137. Data published here may not be
classified same as NTSB classification
Data used contains deliberative information that
is not releasable outside the FAA
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FAA EMS Community Initiatives

• CFIT, night operations/WX, and lack of
  operational control are
• predominant factors in the reviewed
  accidents.
• Notice 800.293, Helicopter Emergency Medical
  Service Operations
• Notice 8000.301 Operational Risk Assessment for
  Helicopter
• Emergency Medical Services
• AC No. 00-64 Air Medical Resource Management
• Notice 8000.307 Special Emphasis Inspection
  Program for Helicopter
• Emergency Services

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FAA EMS Community Initiatives

• HBAT 06-02 HEMS Loss of Control (LOC) and
  Controlled Flight Into
• Terrain (CFIT) accident avoidance
  programs
• HBAT 06-01 Helicopter Emergency Services OpSpec
  A021/A002
• Revisions
• Notice 8000.317 OPERATOR TRAINING PROVIDED BY
  PART 142
• TRAINING CENTERS FOR HELICOPTER
  EMERGENCY MEDICAL
• SERVICES
• Notice 8000.318 PUBLIC HELICOPTER EMERGENCY
  MEDICAL
• SERVICES (HEMS) OPERATIONS
• Notice 8000.333 HEMS use of the digital data
  service experimental
• HEMS WX tool

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FAA EMS Community Initiatives

• Notices expired in 2006 but have been rolled
  into the 8900.10 Inspectors handbook.
• Volume 4, chapter 5, Air Ambulance Operations
• Volume 3, chapter 25, Operational Control for
  Air Carriers
• Volume 4, chapter 7, section 7, Night Vision
  Imaging Systems
• Volume 6, chapter 2, section 7, Inspect Aircraft
  used for Air Ambulance

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Summary - The Obvious HEMS Accident Trend Must
Be Reversed. BUT HOW?

• Communication!!!!.
• Regional Safety Meetings
• Discuss Risk Mitigation. NIGHT OPERTIONS
• Create a true community effort to execute and
  sustain changes identified, by improving
  communication among/across the industry, includes
  regulatory agencies, media, public.
• Medical necessity for the flight!! Is it really
  golden hour.
• Studies on how many people were treated and
  released within a day after transport?

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Thank You!! Questions/Comments