NINTH FATAL HELICOPTER CRASH OF THE YEAR OCCURS PROMPTING THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TO CALL FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCREASE OF MEDICAL HELICOPTER CRASHES
CATASTROPHIC INJURY ATTORNEY, JEFFREY REIFF, WEIGHS IN
Another four people, including a 13 month old girl, died when a medical rescue helicopter crashed in Illinois early last week. The helicopter was headed for Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Authorities state that there was no distress call made from the pilots and believe that the helicopter may have hit a radio wire before it crashed. (news article)
Just prior to this, on September 30, 2008, a helicopter operated by the Maryland State Police crashed killing four people. An investigation revealed that the rescue helicopter was not equipped with a terrain awareness system that could have warned the pilot that he was flying dangerously close to a grove of trees, according the National Transportation Safety Board. (news article)
In the last 30 years of practicing catastrophic injury law, we are all too familiar with evacuations and rescues by helicopters from serious accidents. Many of our clients have recollected that the helicopter rides have been scarier than the actual accident. In the case of the Maryland accident, according to news sources, Stephanie Younger, the mother of one of the crash victims that died, stated that her teenage daughter was well enough to call her on her cell phone after the car accident and had no obvious injuries, just pains in her chest. It should be noted that the weather at the time of the crash was rain and fog, and the helicopter was flying at night. Mrs. Younger was quoted as asking “If the weather is already bad, why would you put a child by herself and without a parent in a helicopter?” On June 8th another helicopter crash in Texas killed a patient and three crew members.
In the last 30 years of practicing catastrophic injury law, we are all too familiar with evacuations and rescues by helicopters from serious accidents. Many of our clients have recollected that the helicopter rides have been scarier than the actual accident. In the case of the Maryland accident, according to news sources, Stephanie Younger, the mother of one of the crash victims that died, stated that her teenage daughter was well enough to call her on her cell phone after the car accident and had no obvious injuries, just pains in her chest. It should be noted that the weather at the time of the crash was rain and fog, and the helicopter was flying at night. Mrs. Younger was quoted as asking “If the weather is already bad, why would you put a child by herself and without a parent in a helicopter?” On June 8th another helicopter crash in Texas killed a patient and three crew members.
As I have thought about helicopter rescue crashes over the last few months, this raises the question of whether medical ambulance flights are being overused and are justified in all instances. The Maryland State Police have grounded their helicopter fleet until air safety investigators make a preliminary finding on the cause of their September 28, 2008 crash that killed four people.
The Federal Aviation Administration is joining with the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating all of the helicopter crashes. So far this year there have been 11 crashes with 9 fatalities involving medical helicopters nationwide according to NTSB data. In addition to the crashes noted above, there was a crash in Indiana killing three people on August 31, 2008. NTSB spokesman Terry Williams claims that the agency plans to hold a public hearing on medical helicopter crashes sometime during the next year to look into the recent increase in these catastrophic and fatal incidents. The circumstances surrounding these medevac crashes, together with the number of crashes in recent months, has stimulated a debate regarding safety and standards on when to fly critically injured patients to safety. Many critics of the medevac flights argue that such helicopter rescues are overused and put lives at risk unnecessarily. Others, such as myself, would argue that the vast majority of such flights are safe and the benefits out weigh the risks. What is important, however, is that stringent safety and maintenance requirements are met and that these helicopters have and are maintained with at the minimum federally recommended equipment and crash avoidance warning systems to avoid incidents such as those mentioned above. Aviation accidents, for the most part, result in catastrophic injury or death.
At the Pennsylvania personal injury law firm of Reiff and Bily, we have been involved in the representation of catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases since 1979. We have access to some of the most respected experts in the country and our lawyers are able to recognize and analyze the root causes of such catastrophic accidents from pilot error to airplane and engine design product liability accidents. The most common cause of airline crashes or helicopter crashes includes but is not limited to pilot error, faulty equipment, FAA regulation violations, structural or design problems with the aircraft, dangerous or defective design or manufacture of the aircraft.
The experienced personal injury lawyers at the law firm of Reiff and Bily have been handling wrongful death claims since 1979. If you have a question or concern and would like to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your aviation accident case, please contact us as soon as possible at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.
