Wednesday, March 18, 2010

** 2008 Illinois air ambulance crash blamed on pilot error

** Omaha EMS crew on hot seat after allowing child to talk on ambulance radio

UNITED STATES NEWS

** Poor preflight planning and inadequate flying altitude were pinpointed as the cause of a 2008 Air Angels air ambulance crash in Aurora, Illinois. That is the word from Fox 2 (Associated Press/March 16) which quoted from a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report that blamed pilot Del Waugh, 69, of Carmel, Indiana for the mishap. According to the news site, Waugh’s errors were apparently compounded by DuPage Airport’s air traffic control office which did not issue a safety caution. Along with Waugh, 14-month-old patient Kristin Blockringer, paramedic Ronald Battiato, and flight nurse William J. Mann Jr. also perished in the crash. Air Angels went out of business in February of 2009 after Blockringer’s parents sued the company.

** A crew of medics in Omaha, Nebraska is on the hot seat after allowing an 11-year-old boy to communicate with a receiving hospital via the in-ambulance radio. Action 3 News (March 17) said the Tuesday incident, which quickly caught the attention of media monitoring on scanners, played out as the boy’s grandmother was being transported to hospital. According to the news site, Joey Roth was in the back of the ambulance with his relative when he indicated he was afraid. By way of easing his concerns, the driving medic allowed him to update the hospital as to the EMS unit’s status. Following the transmission, the crew was called down to their division headquarters. An internal investigation has now commenced.