Medical blog

-- June 8, 2008: A medical helicopter agreed to pick up a patient
in Huntsville,
, in the early morning darkness after a Life
Flight crew abandoned the mission. The Bell 407 helicopter crashed
in Sam Houston National Forest, killing the patient, pilot,
paramedic and nurse.
--May 10, 2008: A
Hospital Med Flight
helicopter dropped off a patient in La Crosse, Wis., and then
crashed shortly after it took off on its return flight to Madison,
killing the surgeon, nurse and pilot on board. The aircraft was a
new American Eurocopter EC13 leased from Denver-based Air Methods.
--Feb. 5, 2008: A medical helicopter crashed during a trip to
South Padre Island, Texas, to pick up a patient. The helicopter had
just aborted its trip due to bad weather when it went down, so
there was no patient aboard. The pilot and two medics were killed
in the accident.
--Dec. 10, 2006: A medical helicopter crashed northeast of
, killing the pilot and two crew members. No patients were
on board. The chopper was en route to its base in
,
Calif., from Loma Linda Medical Center. A combination of pilot
error and weather conditions were to blame, according to the NTSB.
--May 30, 2006: A medical helicopter in Washington, D.C., crashed
after aborting a landing at a hospital, killing the patient and
injuring three crew members. The patient had been critically ill
and was being transported to Washington Hospital Center from
Greater Southeast Community Hospital about 10 miles away. The
chopper crashed less than a mile from the hospital on a golf course
at the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home, where the pilot tried an
emergency landing. Pilot error caused the accident, the NTSB said.
--April 13, 2006: A medical helicopter on a test flight in Green
Bay, Wis., experienced mechanical problems and crashed, killing the
pilot. A combination of pilot and mechanical error caused the
accident, according to the NTSB.
Sources: The Associated Press and National Transportation Safety
Board.
Associated Press researcher Julie Reed in New York compiled this
report.