Lifeguard Fatal Five in Nevada Feb 24, 2023

Damn, from how often these stories pop up vs other areas of commercial aviation, I'm always curious to learn more about the operations. My friend was an EMT\Paramedic for years before leaving for fire and he always said that bad wx plane rides from NUQ in the medevac planes to RNO and places like that as part of patient transport were far more sketchy than anything else he ever did. And this is coming from a guy who almost stepped into a spike pit laid out during communal warfare in a homeless encampment.

That said, everything I've read from medevac pilots more or less makes the risk management process look very unlikely to try and coax them into taking the aircraft up when they probably shouldn't. I wonder if the demands of the hours worked impair crews more than other jobs due to the difficulty of flying a PC-12/KingAir at low level vs a multi-crew transport jet between large airports, but that is only a thought. It appears that many of the fatals are at night, but then again, so are many of the operations in general.
 
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ARCHIVED TAF OF: 20230225 // FROM: 0 TO: 23 UTC
AIRPORTS REQUESTED: KRNO

KRNO 250159Z 2502/2524 16005KT 1SM -SN OVC025 WS020/20040KT FM250800 18015G25KT 3SM -SN BKN010 OVC020 WS020/21035KT TEMPO 2512/2516 6SM -SHSN BKN030 FM251600 17012KT 2SM -SN BKN010 OVC020
KRNO 250524Z 2506/2606 16005KT 1 1/2SM -SN OVC020 WS020/20040KT FM250800 18015G25KT 3SM -SN BKN020 OVC030 WS020/21035KT FM251200 13005KT 4SM -SN BKN030 OVC050 FM251500 14006KT P6SM VCSH BKN050 FM260200 17012KT 3SM -SN SCT015 OVC030
KRNO 251120Z 2512/2612 12008KT 3SM -SN OVC030 FM251500 13008KT P6SM VCSH OVC040 FM251900 18008KT P6SM OVC030 FM252200 13007KT P6SM VCSH SCT025 OVC030 FM260000 VRB05KT P6SM VCSH SCT025


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A report was just filed.

Nothing notable on ATC recordings. If the position reports are accurate a decending right turn out of FL190 until radar contact is lost.

E957FFF4-97FD-43DC-B642-7539F9C64C1B.png





Date:24-FEB-2023
Time:21:15
Type:
Silhouette image of generic PC12 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different

Pilatus PC-12/45
Owner/operator:Guardian Flight LLC (South Jordan UT)
Registration:N273SM
MSN:475
Fatalities:Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage:Unknown
Location:Stagecoach, about 15 miles west of Silver Springs -
N.gif
United States of America
Phase:En route
Nature:Ambulance
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
Five people are dead after Care Flight medical flight crashed Friday night in Stagecoach, REMSA Health said. The people killed in the crash were a pilot, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient, and a patient’s family member. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said it received several calls at about 9:15 p.m. about the crash. Sheriff’s deputies, the Central Lyon County Fire Protection District, Lyon County Search and Rescue and Douglas County Search and Rescue responded. The sheriff’s office said searchers found the aircraft at about 11:15 p.m. REMSA identified the plane as a PC 12 fixed-wing aircraft with tail number N273SM.


Sources:

Care Flight airplane crashes in Lyon County
Aircraft Inquiry
 
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ChasenSFO said:
Damn, from how often these stories pop up vs other areas of commercial aviation, I'm always curious to learn more about the operations. My friend was an EMT\Paramedic for years before leaving for fire and he always said that bad wx plane rides from NUQ in the medevac planes to RNO and places like that as part of patient transport were far more sketchy than anything else he ever did. And this is coming from a guy who almost stepped into a spike pit laid out during communal warfare in a homeless encampment.

That said, everything I've read from medevac pilots more or less makes the risk management process look very unlikely to try and coax them into taking the aircraft up when they probably shouldn't. I wonder if the demands of the hours worked impair crews more than other jobs due to the difficulty of flying a PC-12/KingAir at low level vs a multi-crew transport jet between large airports, but that is only a thought. It appears that many of the fatals are at night, but then again, so are many of the operations in general.
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I fly Charter in a King Air B100 for Charter, and Medevac. I honestly do not see or feel a difference between charter and Medevac. For the most part, we are disconnected from the patient. In fact I would say there is less pressure on Medevac flights than some angry passengers we sometimes get on a typical charter. Unlike the rotorcraft side, our patients are very stable, and many just walk on the airplane.
 
Roger Roger said:
Since we know so little so far the only thing I’ll point out is that every medevac accident I can think of recently has been single pilot.
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I wonder how significant that line of thought will turn out to be. A second pilot may be just what was needed.
 
I remember two huge cases regarding the PC12 and TBM Soc. One was over Morristown, NJ. Severe icing and it came spiraling down. Killed a family with young kids, their dog, and a work colleague. It fell in between two Interstates, luckily no one died on the ground.

Another was the Bramlage family. Way too many young kids on that flight. Private owner operator. Lost control and the aircraft broke up in flight. One kid was ejected. Very tragic accident, a huge loss for their community.


There's also one, I forget what type it was. I think a PC12? Somewhere in the Dakotas or Idaho(?) where the passengers loaded up, the pilot went to fly, and the airport ops people told him he'd have to be effin crazy (literally said that to him) to fly in this weather. Took off, stalled, crashed. I think it was some religious group. There was a thread here a while ago about it.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
I remember two huge cases regarding the PC12 and TBM Soc. One was over Morristown, NJ. Severe icing and it came spiraling down. Killed a family with young kids, their dog, and a work colleague. It fell in between two Interstates, luckily no one died on the ground.

Another was the Bramlage family. Way too many young kids on that flight. Private owner operator. Lost control and the aircraft broke up in flight. One kid was ejected. Very tragic accident, a huge loss for their community.


There's also one, I forget what type it was. I think a PC12? Somewhere in the Dakotas or Idaho(?) where the passengers loaded up, the pilot went to fly, and the airport ops people told him he'd have to be effin crazy (literally said that to him) to fly in this weather. Took off, stalled, crashed. I think it was some religious group. There was a thread here a while ago about it.
Click to expand...

That last one was nothing but a death wish. The NTSB report was sickening.
 
Inverted said:
This has incapacitation written all over it.
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I'd put that second behind graveyard spiral. I'll spare us all a lecture from the former airline pilot about how basic flying skills are overrated and outdated by not pointing out that the hairier, more dangerous flying jobs are now being filled by Noobs who have never been scared out of their minds in an airplane. I *didn't* do that, just to be clear.
 
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