Medivac down near Memphis

ctab5060X

ctab5060X

Well-Known Member
Didn't see this posted yet. Looks like it went down in the weather that rolled through the Memphis area early this morning.

Story...

For those that fly in and out of MEM, these are the medivacs using the "Wing" callsign and they service some of the major hospitals in Memphis.

Routinely hear them on tower freq as they transition the Bravo airspace.

Godspeed...
 
Air evac out of Jackson, tn turned it down. This happened about 15 minutes from my house. I believe Hospital Wing is actually a non profit. Sucks to lose 3 lives trying to save 1. Prayers go out to the families.
 
I understand that this is a pretty demanding form of aviation and all, but it seems as if we have gotten an "RIP Medivac" thread every two or three weeks for the last year. I know MikeD is keenly interested in this but I wonder what is going on, or if I am just more attuned to it since being on JC? It sure seems like the frequency is going up.

Regardless, RIP. Guys like this saved my life once after a car accident and it hits home for me.
 
WacoFan said:
I understand that this is a pretty demanding form of aviation and all, but it seems as if we have gotten an "RIP Medivac" thread every two or three weeks for the last year. I know MikeD is keenly interested in this but I wonder what is going on, or if I am just more attuned to it since being on JC? It sure seems like the frequency is going up.

Regardless, RIP. Guys like this saved my life once after a car accident and it hits home for me.
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Yes. And the common thread is either weather or lighting conditions, or a combination of both. Normally, either or both of them being avoidable too. We'll see where this one lies, but the initial looks appear to parallel the previous ones; though mechanical hasn't yet been ruled out, obviously.
 
WacoFan said:
I understand that this is a pretty demanding form of aviation and all, but it seems as if we have gotten an "RIP Medivac" thread every two or three weeks for the last year. I know MikeD is keenly interested in this but I wonder what is going on, or if I am just more attuned to it since being on JC? It sure seems like the frequency is going up.

Regardless, RIP. Guys like this saved my life once after a car accident and it hits home for me.
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I used to ride in the back of Medevac choppers in the Army while Stateside. We'd get the missions the civilian companies couldn't or wouldn't do.

Even then, they did some crazy stuff.

It's very dangerous work. Frankly, I'm not always surprised to hear about accidents. There's stuff that you don't hear about, too.

I'm not suggesting that this is acceptable, mind you, but the Medevac community voluntarily accepts dangerous flight conditions as an operational standard.

Sadly, this is often the result.
 
I_Money said:
It really shouldn't be very demanding - unfortunately it is competitive business, which I believe is a contributor to pushing the envelope.
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It can be exceptionally demanding. But the level of demanding is normally influenced by the pilot/crew making the decision to push the mission to areas where it gets there. Competition is also another factor, as you mention.
 
I_Money said:
It really shouldn't be very demanding - unfortunately it is a competitive business, which I believe is a contributor to pushing the envelope.
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They're trying to save lives. The envelope can't be pushed far enough. Saving lives should be of the utmost importance, even if it involves risks.

RIP
 
twotwowoo said:
They're trying to save lives. The envelope can't be pushed far enough. Saving lives should be of the utmost importance, even if it involves risks.

RIP
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As a firefighter, we're taught from day one that our safety is first and foremost. And it's true. We're of no help to anyone if we become victims ourselves. There are times when the mission just can't happen; and the risk being undertaken can't be justified for the reasons I just mentioned.

It's this attitude, going unchecked, that's been a secondary/tertiary factor of a number of EMS accidents; where guys don't know where to draw the line.

This is just a little caveat that needs to be attached to your post, since some people just get tunnel vision when the call comes in, and forget this.
 
twotwowoo said:
They're trying to save lives. The envelope can't be pushed far enough. Saving lives should be of the utmost importance, even if it involves risks.

RIP
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Yeah, but there has been a lot written lately about how a lot of these flights end up being used for patients who really aren't that critical. There was an article in the local paper not long ago about a guy who was stuck with like a $6k bill for a helo transport that wasn't medically necessary.

I'm sure even the USCG has some threshold where they say "sorry, you're on your own for a bit".

And theoretically, you would think that if a helo is required, the chances of survival are already pretty slim. Why take excessive risks when there's a good chance the patient will die anyways?

I'm just amazed these operations get insured.
 
It can be exceptionally demanding. But the level of demanding is normally influenced by the pilot/crew making the decision to push the mission to areas where it gets there. Competition is also another factor, as you mention.
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and

They're trying to save lives. The envelope can't be pushed far enough.
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I have ridden along a number of times and the way you are dispatched doesn't give any information about your patient before you have accepted the flight and are airborne - that should eliminate pushing the bounds for a critically ill patient. Combine that with the fact that any crew member can call off the flight if they have any concerns we really shouldn't be loosing medivac helicopters like we are and making excuses every time it happens.
 
twotwowoo said:
They're trying to save lives. The envelope can't be pushed far enough. Saving lives should be of the utmost importance, even if it involves risks.

RIP
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That's actually the exact opposite of the reality. For Air Evac (heck, pretty much any sort of medical evac, be it ground, air or boat) you have to work off the assumption that the patient is already dead and if you actually get them to where they need to be and they are still alive, that's a bonus. Otherwise you start pushing the envelope and can end up in a world of hurt.

Saving lives is never of utmost importance. Safely completing (even if it means NOT getting the patient from point a to point b) the mission is of utmost importance.
 
I_Money said:
I have ridden along a number of times and the way you are dispatched doesn't give any information about your patient before you have accepted the flight and are airborne - that should eliminate pushing the bounds for a critically ill patient. Combine that with the fact that any crew member can call off the flight if they have any concerns we really shouldn't be loosing medivac helicopters like we are and making excuses every time it happens.
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Nah. What I'm talking about is nothing to do with the specifics of a particular call. It's any call. There are those who hang it all out for any call........add to that mission info and that can influence the decision.

And Ian, pushing the bounds doesn't stop just because you've launched. Launching is probably one of the easier part. It's knowing when "you can't get there from here" enroute, and knowing when to knock that off, that is key. Very few, if any, accidents happen just as the helo is launching off the pad......they're usually enroute. Where WX is/was a factor in these accidents, it would appear the crew had many chances following launch to abort, yet made conscious decisions to press forward, where they later met their demise.

There just is no eliminating the "pushing the bounds", what with the type of people who get involved in this kind of work in the first place. Sometimes, I don't know who's the worst Type A: pilots, or flight medics/nurses.
 
twotwowoo said:
They're trying to save lives. The envelope can't be pushed far enough. Saving lives should be of the utmost importance, even if it involves risks.

RIP
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Say that during the interview for a life flight job, and the one thing you wont have is a life flight job.
 
Man that's horrible news. A buddy from dispatch class works for Air Evac and my first thought was that it was one of theirs. I'm glad it's not, but sorry to hear that another crew in that line of work went in. :(

RIP
 
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