Friday, February 1, 2008
** Pilot error blamed for 2007 Montana air ambulance crash
** US EMS/fire union overjoyed by Giuliani’s decision to step away from presidential race
UNITED STATES NEWS
** The downing of a Mercy Flight air ambulance last February 6 resulted from pilot error, darkness, and rocky terrain. That is the word from the Great Falls Tribune (January 31) which quoted from a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probable cause report on the mishap. Killing paramedic Paul Erickson, 33, pilot Vince Kirol, 59, and flight nurse Darcy Dengel, 27, the crash happened in nighttime hours when cloud cover was heavy. According to the NTSB, Kirol failed to maintain adequate altitude and descent speed while attempting to land visually. The surrounding mountainous terrain also provided few visual references to guage his approach. The aircraft went down while en route from Belgrade to Great Falls, Montana.
** The decision by Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani to step down from further campaigning has apparently overjoyed one EMS/fire union. That is the word from the PRNewswire (January 30) which quoted International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold A. Schaitberger as saying the move was good news for the country as a whole. Schaitberger, who has consistently maintained Giuliani sought to profit politically from the death of 9/11 emergency workers, also said Giuliani was unusually selfish in seeking the presidency in the first place.
