On January 29, 2019, a Bell 407 helicopter operating as an air ambulance flight by Batesville, Arkansas-based Survival Flight crashed near Zaleski, Ohio, killing the pilot, the flight nurse and the flight paramedic.
NTSB Cites Poor Safety Culture in Air Ambulance Accident
Key Takeaways:
- A 2019 air ambulance crash, killing three crew members, was primarily caused by the pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and subsequent failure to maintain altitude.
- The NTSB cited the operator, Survival Flight, for inadequate safety management, specifically normalizing non-compliance with pre-flight risk assessment and weather evaluation procedures.
- Contributing factors also included the FAA's insufficient oversight of the operator's risk management program and its failure to require safety management systems (SMS) for Part 135 operators.
- The investigation led to multiple recommendations for Survival Flight, the FAA, and the National Weather Service, focusing on improving safety culture, weather technology, and implementing robust safety management systems within the helicopter air ambulance industry.
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