Lawyer Pages

EMS helicopters are prone to aviation accidents

A recent study released by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found that nighttime and bad weather transport of patients using EMS helicopters greatly increased the risk of accident. The study, entitled: "EMS Helicopter Crashes : What Influences Fatal Outcome?," used National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) records for crashes that occurred between Jan. 1, 1983 and April 30, 2005.

The data showed that during the period, there were 182 crashes of which 39% had one or more fatalities. In total, 184 people died in those crashes: 45% of the 44 patients in transport, and 32% of the 513 crew members aboard those flights. Pilot experience and number of hours flown did not appear to be a factor. They also found that an EMS helicopter has a 25% of being involved in an accident over a 15-year period.

Darkness was found to be a major factor – 56% of all nighttime crashes resulted in a fatality compared to just 24% of crashes in the daylight hours. But bad weather was shown to be the most influential factor. Seventy-seven percent of crashes where the pilots had to rely partly or entirely on instruments to fly were fatal, compared with 31% of "visual condition" flights. Flights during the winter months seem to be riskier, with 52.1% of crashes between December and February resulting in fatality.

Even if passengers and crew survived the initial crash, a post-crash fire dramatically increased the risk of fatality. Seventy-six percent of accidents that caused a fire after crashing had one or more fatality, while 29% of crashes that didn't cause a fire resulted in fatality.

After studying the data, researchers found that accidents involving post-crash fire increased the likelihood of fatality by more than 16 times, bad weather by eight times, and darkness by more than 3 times. The study concluded that accidents could be reduced "with improved crashworthiness and measures to reduce flights in hazardous conditions." The report did not suggest how to accomplish this, stating that more studies would have to been done. However, it did note that in Europe, nighttime EMS flights were rare and that ground transportation was used more often, suggesting that this could be one option to reduce fatalities.

Clearly, EMS helicopter service is not as safe as it could be and may put patients at unnecessary risk in certain situations. If you or a loved one has been injured while being transported in an EMS helicopter, contact Jim S. Adler & Associates. We have over three decades of experience fighting for the rights of our clients to ensure they get the compensation they deserve. Jim S. Adler & Associates may be able to do the same for you. Click on the link below for a free case assessment, or call us directly for more information.