Concern Network
Article Outline
- December 1, 2007
- December 1, 2007
- December 3, 2007
- December 5, 2007
- December 18, 2007
- December 23, 2007
- December 30, 2007
Concern Network 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.
December 1, 2007
Alabama LifeSaver's BH 206L4 struck a 1/4-inch power line during takeoff from a scene landing zone. The power line severed, and the aircraft landed in an adjacent field. No injuries were reported, and the patient was transported by another company aircraft. FAA released the aircraft for repair. The weather was clear and not a factor. Omniflight is the vendor for the Anniston-based program.
December 1, 2007
LifeFlight 3, based in Evergreen, Alabama, was en route to pick up a patient for an inter-hospital transport when they experienced a large bird strike. The aircraft was at approximately 1600 ft AGL traveling at 118 knots. Weather was clear. The pilot saw the bird just prior to impact and executed a left turn to try to avoid impact. The bird struck the right front windshield area in front of the pilot, creating a hole approximately 12” × 13”. The bird appeared to be a large buzzard. The pilot and crew were wearing helmets and nomex flight suits. The pilot immediately identified a suitable LZ near a house in the predominantly rural area and executed a precautionary landing without incident. The pilot notified the LifeFlight communications center of the strike and their intent to land. The aircraft is satellite tracked at the LifeFlight communications center and at aircraft vendor PHI's EOC.
The pilot was evaluated and released at the local ER. The flight nurse and medic were not injured. There was no patient on board. The AS350 B2 aircraft is out of service pending the replacement of the windshield. Operations at the base were resumed using a back-up aircraft on 12/2.
December 3, 2007
LifeGuard Alaska, based in Anchorage, lost pilot Lance Brabham, paramedic Cameron Carter, flight nurse John Stumpff, and patient Gaye McDowell in early December. The program's BK117C-1 was in route from Cordova to Anchorage with the patient on board. A position report was made at 1718 local time indicating the aircraft was over Esther Island, in the northwest corner of Prince William Sound, with 27 minutes remaining en route. No indication of trouble was given, and the weather was clear. However, the aircraft missed its next two 10-minute position reports and failed to arrive in Anchorage.
Over the next week, assets from the Alaska Air National Guard, US Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers, Civil Air Patrol, and civilian volunteers fought stormy weather and low ceilings to patrol Prince William Sound. On December 8, the body of John Stumpff was recovered on a beach in Passage Canal, along with the port side rear door. The search was narrowed, and some medical equipment was recovered the next day. On December 10, search efforts were suspended. The aircraft fuselage and the remaining bodies are presumed to have sunk in 1300 feet of water.
Evergreen Helicopters of Alaska was the program vendor.
December 5, 2007
Climbing through 4000 feet, EagleMed's BE9L took an uncommanded engine roll-back to idle. Although the engine did not respond to power lever inputs, it was secured, and the aircraft was returned to KICT for an uneventful single engine landing. Inspection and testing revealed that the fuel control had failed internally. Fuel control was replaced, and the engine then operated properly. The weather was clear and not a factor. The Wichita, Kansas-based program serves as its own vendor.
December 18, 2007
During the pilot shift change at 1830, a UNC Carolina (Chapel Hill) Air Care day pilot told the night pilot about the BK117 having a brief slowing, drop in power with quick recovery on three takeoffs that day. After the third event, the pilot discussed it with a mechanic. The aircraft was inspected, but no specific issue was identified. The aircraft did a return takeoff from the main base to its satellite base.
The night pilot on duty received a mission request. The aircraft lifted; shortly after takeoff the pilot decided to put the aircraft in an approach position to determine if the events described by the day pilot reoccurred. If any issues arose, the pilot would abort the mission and take the aircraft off line. The aircraft had an unexpected response to the maneuver, going into a 30-degree pitch. The pilot was able to make recovery and right the aircraft. The mission was aborted. The aircraft returned to base without further incident.
The aircraft had returned from an extensive PM service 4 days previously. The aircraft was flown from Pittsburgh to Fayetteville, NC, by a pilot who routinely works with other aircraft but was not familiar with this aircraft. The next pilot to fly the aircraft made a statement at the end of his shift to the oncoming crew that there was something different about the way the aircraft was flying. The next comment came from a pilot who had a head cold, noting a difference in the handling of the aircraft but attributing this to his cold, affecting his senses.
The following night this pilot received the shift change brief about the 3 episodes and later said that he felt a sense of uneasiness after hearing the day pilot's comments but did not feel he had anything concrete to take the aircraft off line. This led to his decision to put the aircraft in an approach position before getting too far from base on the mission at 1900.
After the event, the aircraft was evaluated by the mechanics, and the “porpoising” effect was reproduced. The aircraft was trucked to Pittsburgh. A hydraulic pack that had been replaced during its previous PM service was replaced again. The aircraft continued to have issues. Additional evaluation was completed. The aircraft was found to have a bearing block on top of the main gear box that was “going bad.” This was replaced, and there have been no further issues. The aircraft was released back to the line and was expected back in NC.
December 23, 2007
The Communications Center at Hartford Hospital (Hartford, CT) received several fire system “trouble” alarms, along with fire and water flow alarm indicators. Among these alarms were several referenced alarms that indicated that the rooftop helipad foam system-water flow monitor had activated, as well. As the fire activation was implemented, center personnel observed in the helipad monitors that water was streaming from the helipad turrets. This system was deactivated by the on-duty fire safety officer within minutes. There was no foam activation, and there were no crewmembers on the helipad when the turrets activated.
At the time of this incident, Life Star 1 (BK-117) was sitting on the helipad. Although there was no visible damage to the aircraft, the on-call mechanic was notified to come in to perform a more thorough inspection. The hospital's fire marshal was also notified and responded to oversee inspection of the fire control systems for the helipad's fire suppression system, and all operations were suspended with the helipad being taken out of service.
As of 12/24/2007, the hospital's helipad was certified as operational after a thorough inspection by the hospital's servicing vendor and fire marshal was completed. During the inspection process, it was determined that there was a bad seal around one of the outside plunger activation switches that essentially allowed for water from the heavy rain to penetrate the electrical circuitry in the switch housing, which led to the activation. During this inspection process, a bad valve was discovered and replaced.
Subsequent inspection by the on-duty mechanic of the helicopter just shortly after the incident occurred indicated that the aircraft incurred no damage, and it was placed back into service. Air Methods is the program's vendor.
December 30, 2007
The Air Evac EMS program based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, suffered a terrible loss on this date. The crew was requested to assist Colbert County, Ala., law enforcement officials who were involved in a search for a hunter who had gotten lost in a wooded area south of Barton. After locating the hunter, the aircraft went down, killing pilot Michael Baker, flight nurse Tiffany Miles, and flight paramedic Allan Bragwell. The NTSB and FAA are currently onsite conducting an investigation. The weather was clear and not a factor.
PII: S1067-991X(08)00007-2
doi:10.1016/j.amj.2008.01.004
