Helikopter - Ambulanseflyging, HEMS, i USA blir sikrere - AIN Alert

Her i Norge, som i USA, flyr en med en sertifisert flyger. Dette er kommersiell luftfart og bør derfor ha to sertifiserte flygere, mener flygernes organisasjon IFALPA. (Red.) HEMS Industry Getting Safer

The helicopter EMS industry is becoming safer, concludes a leading researcher. Dr. Ira Blumen, the program/medical director for the University of Chicago's Aeromedical Network and for the last 17 years one of the nation's foremost researchers on the helicopter EMS industry, recently highlighted a number of industry trends, including that the overall safety record has been improving. The number of annual accidents has declined over the last several years to an average of 8.3, down from an average of 12.75 from 1998 to 2005. From 1998 to 2016, there were 222 accidents involving 214 dedicated aircraft and eight dual-purpose ones; 73 had at least one fatality. Among the 669 personnel aboard, there were 187 fatalities. "In the early days of helicopter EMS, 40 percent of accidents resulted in at least one fatality. From 1990-1997 that number rose to 46 percent. From 1998 to 2016 it declined to 32 percent, while the number of uninjured rose to 51 percent,” Blumen said. “We're doing something right. More people are surviving with no injuries. And we are seeing a much lower percentage of fatalities."