A series of fatal medevac helicopter crashes last year prompted fresh calls for increased industry regulation, and by November the FAA had announced changes to the operations specifications governing helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) flights under Part 135. Those covered flight planning, weather minimums and the use of night-vision goggles (NVGs). But it became apparent at public National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearings held February 3 to 6 on HEMS accidents and operations that these measures did not completely satisfy industry critics both inside and outside government.
The FAA has been working with the HEMS community voluntarily on select flight safety issues, including the recent revision in the ops specs, since 2004 with partial success. However, the NTSB and industry critics clearly would prefer a more aggressive regulatory approach and the three days of high-visibility public hearings were clearly directed at kick-starting the process.
