Airlift Northwest Air Ambulances Refocus on Safety

Oct. 27--Nearly a year after two Airlift Northwest helicopters crashed, the company has implemented a number of changes to better protect lives of its nurses, pilots and customers.

Airlift, one of the largest air ambulance companies in the region, has spent about $2 million to better train employees, update its aircraft with new communication and navigation systems, and provide night-vision goggles for pilots and nurses.

"Safety is a main priority for anyone in aviation," said Mardie Rhodes, a spokeswoman for Airlift. "You can't guarantee it, but you can guarantee that you are doing everything (you can) to be safe."

Safety wasn't guaranteed on Sept. 29, 2005, when an Airlift helicopter plunged into Puget Sound near Edmonds, killing three crew members -- a pilot and two nurses. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating that crash, a process that can take many months.

Another of the company's helicopters crashed as it took off from an Olympia hospital Oct. 28, 2005. No one was killed in that accident.

Following the October crash, Airlift grounded its aircraft for a day to conduct an internal and external review of its safety practices. Additionally, an aviation safety firm audited the two companies that supply Airlift's pilots.

CJ Aviation Systems Group, a helicopter pilot supplier, and Executive Flight, an airplane pilot supplier, were found to be operating in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration requirements and had no flight safety issues. There have also been on-site, unannounced inspections of aircraft and crew by the FAA, with no violation reports.

"The FAA came in and pointed out where they were weak and then suggested how they should fix the weaknesses," said Les Dorr, a spokesman for the FAA.

The FAA reports that there have been more than 100 emergency medical aviation accidents in the United States since 1995, with a disproportionate number coming as the industry was rapidly expanding from 2000 to 2004. In August 2004, the agency began an inquiry into the industry.

Steve Lodwig, a manager and pilot for CJ Aviation, said it was a tumultuous time in the industry. He credits the FAA for being the catalyst in a move toward safer flying, including the improvements Airlift is making.

The FAA "was tripping all over themselves to get something out on the street," and ended up releasing a set of safety guidelines in January of this year, Lodwig said. "A lot happened. There were changes in the way we are allowed to do business in the United States."

But is a set of suggested guidelines the best solution? Dorr said the FAA hasn't ruled out mandatory rule changes, but added that isn't necessarily the best way to improve safety.

"Rule-making for any government agency, including the FAA, can be lengthy because of numerous regulatory requirements and reviews," Dorr said. "The FAA feels that we can make significant short-term safety gains through actions that do not require rule-making."

In an industrywide inquiry, the FAA identified the most common causes of air ambulance helicopter crashes: excessive reliance on navigation equipment, disorientation when operating at night or in bad weather, and flight into terrain, either because of equipment malfunction or pilot error.

The guidelines they suggested include: risk management training for pilots to make better decisions about whether to fly, training for night operations and bad weather, and technology such as night-vision goggles, terrain awareness warning systems and radar altimeters.

Rhodes says Airlift Northwest has already begun implementing these improvements.

"It's been an ongoing process," she said, adding that the company is also working to replace its aircraft fleet with more advanced, safer helicopters and planes. "Airlift Northwest is working off of a five-year plan. The purchase of new helicopters will take several years. They are all custom made with a multiyear backlog."