Here's the Bell model 47. What a classic. My son bought this one to build his rotary wing hours. He has since sold it. Wish I could have afforded to buy it. It had just been completely overhauled and flew like a champ!
Posted on 06/29/2008 7:49:32 PM PDT by Drago
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Two medical helicopters collided in mid-air Sunday afternoon in Flagstaff less than a mile from a medical center, killing seven people, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.
All three people on one of the helicopters were killed, including a patient and the pilot, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
Four others were killed and three critically injured in the midair collision, Gregor said.
Tom Boughner with the Flagstaff Police Department said he wasn't sure if they were all on the second helicopter or whether some were on the ground. The FAA said one of the helicopters was operated by Air Methods out of Englewood, Colo., and the other was managed by Classic Helicopter Corporation of Woods Cross, Utah.
(Excerpt) Read more at kpho.com ...
Air Methods lost the one in Wisconsin last month.
Prayers for all involved. :(
Why do so many medical rescue choppers go down?
Another truly sad occasion.
Someone responding also died in a secondary explosion.
acft type ... two medical helicopters bell 47`s
reg nmbr.... acft 1 tail #: n407ga, acft 2 tail # n407mj
Thank you for the info.
I would appreciate updates on personnel involved, when available, even if not names (e.g., professions).
EMF BTTT
N407MJ had a previous incident
http://www.concern-network.org/concern-archive/2005/msg00017.html
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/031097.html
N407GA: http://helicopterphotos.net/gallery/watermark.php?file=539
http://www.visitingphx.com/phpn407ga.jpg
Prayers are being sent up for all involved...
How horrible. Prayers for the victims and their families.
Photos (non-graphic) from around the scene:
http://www.azcentral.com/commphotos/azcentral/6816/12/12/
We just had one go down in Huntsville TX last month. Four were killed.
It's the most dangerous flying the civilian world. Medical choppers fly in almost all weather, frequently land in unprepared fields and seldom have time to really prepare their plans.
No one wants to say, "That patient is going to have to wait, the weather is too bad to fly."
Not true. They will not fly in Arkansas if the weather is bad. Many times we have not been able to fly patients out. Must go by ground. This includes things like cloud coverage. At least down here they seem to take precautions.
No one wants to say, "That patient is going to have to wait, the weather is too bad to fly."
The real question is, "why do so many medical rescue choppers go UP?"
Just last night in my area there was a serious (but not life threatening) MVA for which two choppers were dispatched in the wake of a severe thunderstorm. The crash site was 6 miles from the trauma center hospital--less than 10 minutes running lights and sirens.
There is simply no excuse for such risk to the crews and patients, nor for such abuse of medical insurance dollars.,p> None.
Proficiency in these machines is measured in thousands of hours of flying time, currency is measured in hundreds of hours. If all you do is fly the absolutely necessary missions you would end up with a pilot that had maybe 20 hours a year flying time. That's not enough to stay current. The insurance companies are stringent about the ratings, experience and currency of these pilots.
In addition, the helicopter itself needs to be flown a minimum number of hours per month/year. They're not like the fire trucks of the 40’s and 50’s that were 30 years old and had only 5,000 miles on them!
You are certainly correct though that many of flights are not medically necessary. It costs them just about as much to have the helicopter and crew sitting on pad waiting for a call as it does to actually fly!
Also, they do inter-facility transfers, like from a rural hospital to a trauma center or cardiac center.
All this having been said, it's a very expensive operation and as the economy slows I would expect to see fewer and fewer such operators. And certainly areas with two or more services will cut back.
6/30 Mid Air Collision - Flagstaff
6 dead after 2 medical helicopters collide in Flagstaff
Officials including the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board are in Flagstaff to begin an investigation into Sunday afternoon’s mid-air collision between two medical helicopters. Six died and the lone survivor is in critical condition.
All three people on one of the helicopters were killed in the collision that happened about 3:45 p.m. east of Flagstaff Medical Center. A neighborhood a few hundred yards away was spared the falling debris.
Three people were aboard the Bell 407 owned by Flagstaff Medical Center and operated by Air Methods.
They’re identified as the Air Method’s pilot, 50-year-old Pat Graham; the flight nurse, 36-year-old Shawn Shreeve; and the patient 54-year-old Raymond Zest.
The other four were aboard a Bell 407 operated by a company called Classic Helicopter Service of Utah.
They are the pilot, 54-year-old Tom Caldwell; 36-year-old paramedic Tom Clausing; and a 26-year-old patient, Michael McDonald.
Sent in round robin behind the scenes, not directly from
A BIA representative confirmed that a member of the Chief Mountain IHC,
Greg McDonald, was killed yesterday when two helicopters collided over
Flagstaff, Arizona.
Tim Murphy
Deputy Assistant Director (NIFC)
BLM-Fire and Aviation Directorate
National Interagency Fire Center
Thank you.
I feel for their families and friends.
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