And, although some pilots may take offense to this statement, the
medical crewmembers need to play an active role in acting as a damper in cases where a pilot is taking a flight beyond the limits established by policy, or regulations, or common sense. While the need for such inter- ventions by crewmembers would rare, crewmembers should be trained and enabled to speak up if a pilot should opt to disregard the rules and push the limits. With very few exceptions, air medical pilots are responsible and mature men and women who demonstrate exceptional aeronautical deci- sion-making each time they fly. But the records show that even well trained and highly experienced pilots can get into trouble when too many causative factors are present and lined up in just the wrong way. Nor are we pilots the only ones who may be too accepting of risk.
In the 2003 fatal accident that cost my program the lives of a pilot and a paramedic, there has been some interesting speculation about the dynamics of that specific crew. The accident occurred during conditions of darkness and fog; conditions that have prevailed in too many fatal helicopter accidents. The pilot was ex-Army, trained for combat opera- tions. The medic was a full-time professional firefighter, and the flight nurse, the only survivor, was an avid backpacker and back-country enthusiast. It’s impossible to know, but some have speculated that had
THE RECORDS SHOW THAT EVEN WELL TRAINED AND HIGHLY EXPERIENCED PILOTS CAN GET INTO TROUBLE WHEN TOO MANY CAUSATIVE FACTORS ARE PRESENT
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