Air Medical Journal
Volume 26, Issue 5 , Pages 214-216, September 2007

Concern network

Article Outline

     

    The Concern Network shares verified information to alert medical transport programs when an accident/incident has occurred. Both air and ground programs are encouraged to participate. If you have questions, contact CONCERN Coordinator David Kearns at (800) 525 3712 or www.concern-network.org.

    DateProgramVendorWeatherVehiclePassengers/Injuries
    4/23/07HealthNet Aeromedical Services (Huntington, WV)Air MethodsClear, not a factorAS350-B2Pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, patient/no injuries
    Description:
    HealthNet III, based in Huntington, WV, was en route with a patient from Pleasant Valley Hospital in Point Pleasant, WV, to Saint Mary's Medical Center in Huntington, WV. While in level flight at approximately 2,000' MSL, a warning alarm sounded in the cockpit. A few moments later the aircraft experienced a loss of power. Initiating emergency procedures, the pilot performed an auto-rotation to a recently plowed field. None of the pilot, medical crew, or patient was injured. The patient and crew were transported by local EMS to the destination hospital. Appropriate local, state, and federal officials have been notified of the incident. Aircraft maintenance staff members are evaluating the aircraft to determine how to safely remove the aircraft from the field.
    5/5/07Mayo Med Air Medical Transport – AirMed International (Rochester, MN) Clear, not a factorKing Air C-90Pilot, first officer, RN, paramedic, patient/no injuries
    Description:
    Located at 70 South West of KSUE (Sturgeon Bay, WI), the aircraft was in cruise flight at 19,000 feet just before descent into KSUE when the right engine began to lose power. The captain followed company procedures and completed the procedures for a precautionary engine shutdown. The flight crew notified ATC (air traffic control) of their intention to divert to KGRB (Green Bay, WI), which was the closest appropriate airport with CFR (crash fire & rescue) equipment to stand by and accommodate the patient's medical needs. The crew advised the AirMed operations center in Birmingham during descent of their maintenance status and requested a road ambulance meet the aircraft on arrival in KGRB. The single-engine approach and landing were completed, and the patient was transported by ground accompanied by the medical team to Sturgeon Bay. An AirMed Cessna Citation II was dispatched from its KRST Rochester base within the hour to return the flight and medical crew to base in KRST.
    5/7/07Life Flight (Missoula, MT)Metro AviationClear, not a factorAStar 350 B3Pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic/no injuries
    Description:
    The Life Flight helicopter had a bird strike when it was on the return leg of an interfacility transport with a patient on board. There was a loud thump with the impact, and the crew elected to do a precautionary landing. On inspection it was found that the bird had struck near the center of the radome on the very front of the aircraft, producing a dent and some damage to the composite material. The patient and medical crew completed the transport by ground ambulance. The aircraft was checked over by our mechanic then flown to our hangar for repair.
    5/9/07STAT MedEvac (West Mifflin, PA)CJ SystemsClear, not a factorBK 117-C2Pilot, flight paramedic, specialty team/no injuries
    Description:
    At approximately 1540 hours, STAT MedEvac 10 and the Johns Hopkins Hospital PICU Team landed at Howard County Hospital in Columbia, MD. Onboard crew assessed the hospital pad to be secure, free of debris and noted that hospital security was in place. A STAT MedEvac safety officer assumed the tail guard position while the specialty team was in the process of hot off-loading the aircraft stretcher. During the hot off load, an individual rushed the helipad toward the tail rotor with what appeared to be an attempt at taking a picture with his camera phone. The STAT MedEvac Safety Officer attempted to wave the individual off with hand signals. The wave-off was unsuccessful and, as the individual was approaching a point of impact with the tail rotor, he was forcefully taken to the ground by a member of the flight team. The aircraft was shut down, and the individual was secured on the ground until arrival of hospital security personnel. Hospital Security personnel took control of the situation, and the flight crew continued on with the interfacility transport. Postflight follow-up with hospital personnel revealed the individual had been released after the initial incident, but the flight crew was unaware that the individual had been released by hospital security. Upon departure of the aircraft from the hospital landing zone, the individual again rushed the hospital property a second time in what appeared to be another attempt to photograph the aircraft. He was again physically restrained by security personnel. The incident did not affect the aircraft departure. A report has been filed with local law enforcement, and an attempt has been made to secure hospital video documentation of the incident from their security camera. At the time of this post, the investigation continues.
    5/10/07AirMed (Salt Lake City, UT)AirMethodsClear, not a factorBell 430Pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, flight paramedic orientee/no injuries
    Description:
    En route to an interfacility transport, the pilot noticed a tail rotor chip light illuminate. No other indications of tail rotor failure were noted. After informing the flight crew the crew decided to divert to the Salt Lake International Airport, which was in sight. An uneventful landing was performed. The tail rotor gear box was removed, inspected, and replaced.
    5/14/07AIRLIFE Denver (Englewood, CO)International Jet AviationClear, not a factorLear Jet 252 pilots, 1 neonatal nurse practitioner, 1 flight RT, patient/no injuries
    Description:
    While returning to Centennial Airport (APA), Englewood, CO from Rifle, CO, with the neonatal team and a patient in the isolette on board, LearJet 251AL experienced a hydraulics failure. The pilots reported that pre-flight brake checks on ground at Rifle and again at the end of the runway were normal. The takeoff was normal and then at between 100 and 200 feet off the ground, the pilot called for the gear up and the hydraulic light illuminated red for “low hydraulics.” The hydraulic gauge reading was “0” (normal is 1,200-1,500 psi). PAIP was activated. They flew at 23,000 MSL and at slower speeds with the gear in the down position and the flaps in the takeoff position (8 degrees vs. 40 degrees for landing). The pilots reviewed the emergency checklists and rehearsed the emergency procedures (partial flap landing, alternate braking, etc) three to four times en route. Aircraft Fire Rescue (ARF) equipment responded as a precaution. The pilots were handed off to APA approach and declared an emergency. Approach Control handed the aircraft off to the tower, and it was given immediate landing clearance. The aircraft took a longer approach to control speed. They were unable to get more flaps to decrease speed; thus the approach was executed at higher than normal speed. On landing they immediately tried the normal brake, which failed. Then the emergency brake was applied successfully. The emergency drag chute was not deployed. The pilots were able to slow the aircraft enough (3-4 mph) to make a slight turn off the runway and then shut down one engine to control speed. When the aircraft was stopped and secured, the patient was offloaded to the CCT and the crew continued on to the receiving hospital without incident. The aircraft was taken out of service and the backup jet was placed in service within an hour. A debriefing occurred within an hour of the incident. No trends were identified. A postincident maintenance inspection of 251AL revealed a failed “T fitting,” which connects the aircraft hydraulic reservoir to the main hydraulic routing lines. This is a single-piece aluminum die cast connector. When the connector failed (during or shortly after takeoff), hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic reservoir and connecting lines was exhausted into the aft accessory compartment in the tail of the aircraft. This left no hydraulic fluid to power the aircraft landing gear, flaps, spoilers, or brakes. The Lear Jet 25 has redundant backup systems (using compressed air) for both landing gear and brakes. Spoilers and flaps are not required critical components for landing as long as proper procedures are followed during the landing phase. Because the landing gear (and partial flaps) was extended before the failure, the landing gear backup system did not need to be used. Emergency backup brake actuation was used to bring the aircraft to a stop after landing. The failed component has no moving parts and has no recommended replacement cycle or life expectation limit. It appears to be a random failure. IJA is in contact with the FAA regarding the failure. A similar failure has not occurred in IJA 25+ years of operating Lear Jets.
    5/20/07Air Idaho Rescue (Idaho Falls, ID)AirlinkClear, not a factorAgusta 109K2Pilot, flight nurse, flight medic, patient/no injuries
    Description:
    While returning to base from Salmon, ID, approximately 25 miles from base, Engine #1 chip light came on. This was immediately followed by an N-1 speed surge from 97 to 102. N-1 then stabilized at 97. Pilot informed crew that he would perform a precautionary landing at the Idaho Falls Airport. Dispatch was contacted, intentions communicated, and a ground ambulance was requested to meet aircraft at the airport. Pilot then reduced power on Engine #1 to idle and proceeded to make a single-engine landing without incident. Patient and crew were transported by ground ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center without incident. Aircraft was due to time out for 100-hour maintenance at the conclusion of this flight.
    5/30/07Life Flight (Toledo, OH)CJ SystemsClear, not a factorAS-365N2No injuries
    Description:
    During cruise flight at night, the crew noticed a strong electrical burning smell. Simultaneously the cabin lights flickered and extinguished. The aircraft was landed at the closest available airfield, which was less than 2 NM away. No further incident.
    6/03/07CALSTAR 1 (Concord, CA)CALSTARClear, not a factorMBB BO-105 CBS-5Pilot, two flight nurses/no injuries
    Description:
    Aircraft was responding to a scene call in a remote isolated area. During the final approach to the ground, the main rotor struck a small tree branch, resulting in damage to the trailing edges of three main rotor blades. The flight crew did not see the tree branch, but they did notice a subsequent vibration in the M/R system after feeling the blade strike. The landing was completed without event or further complication. The postflight inspection revealed damage to the trailing edge of three main rotor blades. The flight was terminated. The patient was transported by the East Bay Regional Park Police District Helicopter “Eagle 1” with the CALSTAR flight nurses on board for primary patient care.
    6/4/07Survival Flight (Ann Arbor, MI)MarLin AirLight rain, broken clouds at 3,000, overcast at 35,000, winds 10 mph, gusting to 19550 Citation IIPilots Dennis Hoyes and Bill Serra, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident David Ashburn, MD, Transplant Donation Specialist Richard Chenault II, Transplant Donation Specialist Rick Lapensee, Faculty Cardiac Surgeon with the UM faculty Martinus (Martin) Spoor, MD/fatal injuries
    Description:
    A Citation 550 Citation II jet leased by its U-M Survival Flight air ambulance program took off from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time and was headed for Willow Run Airport near Detroit, a 42-minute flight. About 5 minutes after departure from the airport, the pilot declared an emergency and requested a return to Mitchell. The aircraft disappeared from radar. ATC notified the U.S. Coast Guard, and SAR procedures were implemented. The impact site is about 6 miles northeast of Milwaukee. Early June 5th, the U.S. Coast Guard stated that the rescue mission had been abandoned and that there were no survivors of the crash of the jet carrying six U-M Survival Flight crewmembers. The authorities on scene determined that this was a recovery effort. According to the NTSB review of the recorded ATC transmission, the pilot stated that he was having control problems and possibly a “trim runaway.” Currently the investigation is ongoing, and no definitive cause has been identified.
    6/12/07Life Flight (Toledo, OH)CJ SystemsClear, not a factorAS-365N2No injuries
    Description:
    After landing at an accident scene for an anticipated patient hot load, the #1 engine chip light illuminated. The aircraft was shut down on scene. Another aircraft was called to transport the patient.

PII: S1067-991X(07)00165-4

doi:10.1016/j.amj.2007.06.013

Air Medical Journal
Volume 26, Issue 5 , Pages 214-216, September 2007