NTSB ISSUES SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS TO AIR AMBULANCE INDUSTRY
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued nineteen recommendations regarding Emergency Medical Services helicopters. These types of flights account for an estimated 750 helicopters, 20 operators, and 60 hospital-based programs. The recommendations address a variety of safety issues including pilot training, safety management systems, flight analysis and weather conditions.
In an October 14, 2008 post on this blog regarding the need for the NTSB and the FAA to critically examine safety issues related to medical helicopters, I underscored the importance of night-vision goggles. Fortunately, that is one of the areas that the NTSB has addressed in its recommendations. The accident rate for this mode of transportation is far too high and immediate changes have to be put into place.
In February of 2009, the NTSB conducted a 4-day public hearing to critically examine the need for additional safety in the medical helicopter industry.
The 19 recommendations issued include 10 recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address improved pilot training, collection and analysis of flight, weather, and safety dat, flight data monitoring, development of low altitude airspace in infrastructure, and the use of dual pilots, autopilots, and NVIS.
Two safety recommendations directed to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) are to evaluate the current emergency medical services helicopter reimbursement rate structure and its relationship to patient transport safety.
Two recommendations are to Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS) to address coordination and integration of helicopter emergency medical transport into local and regional emergency medical systems.
Finally, five recommendations are to public operators to improve pilot training, flight data monitoring, and the use of dual pilots, autopilots and night vision equipment.
