Air medical helicopter accidents in the United States: a five-year review.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the number of air medical helicopter accidents in the United States during a five-year period beginning January 1, 1997, and ending December 31, 2001.

METHODS

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB's) Accident Synopses database was accessed to determine the number of accidents involving air medical helicopters during the five-year study period. The NTSB reports for each accident were downloaded.

RESULTS

The NTSB records revealed 47 accident files pertaining to air medical helicopters during the five-year study period. These were analyzed for: date of accident, time of accident, air ambulance operator, location of accident, type of aircraft, number of persons, number of fatalities, number of injuries, cause of accident, and other factors the NTSB investigators deemed appropriate. Of the 47 accidents, there were 40 fatalities and 36 injuries. Overall, there were 13 helicopter types involved. The majority of accidents (70%) were attributed to pilot error. The number of accidents increased from a low of 4 in 1997 to a maximum of 12 in both 2000 and 2001.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has examined 47 U.S. air medical helicopter accidents for a five-year period (1997-2001). There was an increase in the number of accidents during the study period. However, this study is limited by the fact that it presents only raw data and does not reflect the actual incidence of accidents per hours flown. Various factors related to these accidents have been described. These factors should be considered when strategies to improve air medical helicopter safety are developed.