Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Helicopter Company Has Deadly Record Written By Bruce Leshan 9 News Last Updated: 5/31/2006 11:08:08 PM Related Video Play Video While MedStar has a spotless record, 9 News has learned the company that provides pilots and services to MedStar choppers has had a lot of trouble. And it's not alone. The entire medical helicopter industry is facing scrutiny over safety. The company is providing service to MedStar is CJ Systems out of Pennsylvania. It faces a lawsuit in Ohio from a pilot who says he was fired for raising safety issues. And last year, it had four crashes around the country in the space of just 10 weeks. The first crash was last August near a busy interstate in ville, Florida. And, perhaps because of the heroic efforts of the pilot, no one was hurt. But just a month and a half later, another CJ-operated chopper crashed into the Puget Sound near Seattle, killing the pilot and two crew members. A week later, an accident near Pittsburgh killed another pilot. And finally, at the end of October, a company-serviced helicopter slammed into the ground seconds after taking off from a hospital in Olympia, Washington leaving a nurse with minor injuries. Seven months later, the MedStar crash, and CJ Systems insists it has no explanation for all it's problems. It's called in an outside safety auditor and promises more safety training. The NTSB is looking for answers, too. But in Ohio, a former medevac pilot has filed suit against CJ, saying he was required to fly on three successive nights in bad weather on a defective CJ helicopter, the same chopper that later crashed in ville. What we do know is that air ambulance accidents have grown even faster than the increasingly popular service: killing 54 people between 2002 and 2005 and leading the NTSB to demand tougher regulations, better risk assessment and tighter rules on flying in bad weather. We wanted to talk to CJ System's President about his company's safety record, but he was meeting with survivors of yesterday's crash and unavailable. A couple of other things: a new report in this month's issue of Air and Space Magazine looked at more than 37,000 trauma patients evacuated by helicopter and found two thirds were flown out even though their injuries were just minor. A s Hopkins University study says flying a medical chopper is now about as dangerous as flying a fighter jet in wartime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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