Ideas Needed -Safety Seminar

Anyone who thinks a PIC can make a go/no go decisions in a scenario where they don't own the aircraft with no outside input is naive and the FAA would also disagree. As a former CP I can tell you unequivocally if a pilot launched an airplane when I told them not to I would most likely get law enforcement involved. The FAA has put in barriers to prevent management from forcing flights into dangerous situations and in every situation where there was a shade of grey management supported my decision to not go or to delay and as a CP I supported my pilots' decisions to no-go. But outside those parameters I would and most management I know would get involved. If a pilot came to me and said the weather at destination was at minimums and they felt uncomfortable shooting an approach to minimums we would take a serious look at that pilots training. I'm not saying there is not management out there that will not push pilots into and across the grey area and that is where we need to "man up".
While the examples I gave were 135, I faced the same flying military, part 91 and 121. In every case as PIC I analized the risks involved and made a go/no-go decision. Many times when I said "go" someone above me outside the cockpit said "no-go". If I ignored this I would no longer be flying.
 
I think some of the worst situations are when the med crews are not employed by the 135 certificate holder. Aren't many hospital-based operations split like this? JH has all kinds of stories there about the med crews complaining about the pilot, and the pilot getting a call from the CP. Also, it's the perception that just because it's a bumpy ride that it is therefore unsafe. Also, isn't the restriction of patient info (aside from weight) is a CAMTS thing?
 
There are two types of programs; hospital based (where the medical staff is employed by the hospital) and community based (where the medical staff are employed by the operator). I think regardless it is essential regardless of the set up to work as a team, much more so than flying tourists or oil workers. I do not think a bit of turbulence will ever be a problem, but if you come across that has a blase attitude towards safety expect for it to be heard. One of my friends flies EMS, he is a guy instantly you trust - everything about him is a consummate professional. That is the type of person that will do well in the environment - the people striving for the 410 club!

I am not sure if with holding patient information is a CAMTS thing - most of the time they don't give you weight either (mostly on inter-facilities, or if you request it).
 
Not that I have a ton of experience but I interned with a heli EMS company and their policy was having a green yellow and red light for the day. Green light meant they accepted any mision because the weather was good. Yellow light they met as they got the call to decide if weather was okay. And red light they would deny any missions. Also, the pilot making the weather decision would not know anything about the patient until after he made the go no go decision. Anyone on the flight crew has the authority to say no go.
 
I_Money said:
I am not sure if with holding patient information is a CAMTS thing - most of the time they don't give you weight either (mostly on inter-facilities, or if you request it).
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Gotta get the weight on transfers--scenes are something else. If your max patient weight 400 lbs and you fly 45 min and walk into a room with a 500 lb patient....that is a problem. Omitting or withholding operational info like this could be deemed as causing a delay in patient care because the ground unit could have left an hour ago since there was no way air transport was a viable option.
 
We flew 45 minutes to a scene to find a heavy patient we could not fly - ended up riding in the ambulance to the hospital while the pilot flew the helicopter there to pick us up. Medicine isn't perfect.
 
Correct. As Iain says, it's not just an aircraft limitation, there are equipment limitations too that figure in. Especially in rotary wing, which requires far more considerations than fixed wing simply because there are far more variables; as well as everything you do in rotary wing weight-wise or wx-wise, costs something performance-wise. Excess of anything in the performance arena is a luxury that, while nice, can never be taken for granted. No free lunches there. Fixed-wing doesn't normally run into that problem as a matter of course, in terms of being on the edge one way or another, though it still needs obviously needs to be evaluated and planned for.
 
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