Arizona medical copter collision 9th this year, NTSB says
Pastor Dale Morgan
Arizona medical copter collision 9th this year, NTSB says*
* Story Highlights
* NEW: Federal records show 16 fatalities in nine accidents this year
* Medical flight accidents "a serious issue," federal official says
* Emergency nurse only survivor among seven aboard two medical
helicopters
* Collision sets fire to 10-acre area near Flagstaff Medical Center
in Arizona
(CNN) -- Sunday's deadly midair collision of two medical helicopters in
Arizona was the ninth accident involving medical flights this year,
according to federal records.
"This has been a serious issue," National Transportation Safety Board
Chairman Mark Rosenker said at a news conference. "We want to see if
there are issues that we need to fix to prevent these midairs from
happening."
Six of the seven people aboard the copters were killed in Sunday's
collision in Flagstaff. The only survivor, an emergency nurse, was in
critical condition, Flagstaff police Sgt. Tom Boughner said.
Both helicopters were headed to Flagstaff Medical Center at the time of
the crash, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
He said three of those killed were aboard a Bell 407 helicopter operated
by Air Methods Corp., an air medical service provider. The other
helicopter, operated by Classic Helicopter Service of Utah, also was a
Bell 407. Four victims, including the nurse, were on that helicopter.
Two pilots, two medics and two patients died in the crash, Boughner
said. Video Watch as victims are carried from the crash site »
The wrecked helicopters set fire to a 10-acre area when they crashed to
earth, according to fire officials, and three rescue workers were
injured by a secondary explosion after the crash.
According to NTSB data, Sunday's accident was the ninth collision or
crash involving medical helicopters this year. In 2007, there were 14
such crashes.
Including the Arizona crash, 16 people have died this year.
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Rosenker said the NTSB is studying the safety of medical flights.
"We are concerned about that," he said. "That is why we are going to
work very, very hard to understand what happened here."