Last year there was a fatal helicopter crash in the
mountains near here. Three people were killed, the pilot and two flight
nurses. There was much speculation locally, among the first responders,
that the rescue helicopters routinely used are too small and are NOT rated for
high altitude especially with extra weight. Now, this could certainly
simply be gossip, I am making no claims that this is true. In
this case, the helicopter crashed just before landing to pick up an injured
logger, at around 9700 ft elevation, in full view of everyone at the
site.
There is one statement in the
article that is quite startling to me:
"Approximately 650 helicopter ambulances that
respond to emergencies operate in the United States, according to the
Association of Air Medical Services, a group that represents the industry.
Eighty-three have crashed since 2000, killing 66 people."
That sounds really high to me, statistically.
Here's the link to the full article:
