Sep 29, 2008 11:05 am US/Eastern
Medical Chopper Crash Kills 4 in P.G. County
FORESTVILLE, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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A medical helicopter carrying victims of a traffic accident crashed in a suburban Washington park early Sunday after reporting bad weather, killing four of the five people aboard, authorities said.
One person is in critical condition after the deadliest medical chopper accident in Maryland history.
Suzanne Collins reports on what happened may have caused a medeevac crash.
Monday morning Maryland state police have grounded all of their helicopters, until they can identify the cause of this crash that killed four people.
Right now, investigators believe fog and rain may be to blame.
Paramedics rushed 18-year-old Jordan Wells to the hospital. She's the sole survivor of the helicopter crash that killed four people when it went down in a remote wooded area of Prince George's County-- just three miles from Andrew's Air Force base.
Paramedics rushed 18-year-old Jordan Wells to the hospital. She's the sole survivor of the helicopter crash that killed four people when it went down in a remote wooded area of Prince George's County-- just three miles from Andrew's Air Force base. A call for help in foggy weather and then silence is what happened moments before a medevac helicopter crashed in southern Maryland.
It happened shortly after midnight in District Heights, Prince George's County.
Four of the five people on board were killed.
"This is a devastating tragedy for the families of all of the victims, for the Maryland State Police family and of course the emergency medical services family,' said Col. Terrence Sheridan.
Pilot Stephen Bunker and Trooper Paramedic Mickey Lippy flew a state police medevac helicopter to a car accident in the Waldorf area.
Two injured 18-year-old women were loaded on the helicopter. A Waldorf paramedic helping them also got on board.
The helicopter was heading to Prince George's County Hospital when the pilot radioed to the control tower that he was having trouble and needed to land at Andrews Air Force Base instead.
The plane never made it. Police found the crash site two hours later.
"There was some preliminary information from eyewitnesses who arrived early at the scene to help get that survivor out, and they said it was very foggy and obviously it was in the middle of the night, and it was very dark," said Debbie.
The news is heartbreaking for victims' family members, including the aunt of Waldorf paramedic Tanya Mallard.
"I'm sorry for everybody else's loss that lost a loved one in this crash. My family is truly, truly hurting and truly, truly will be missing Tanya," said Cheri Douglas.
Investigators are keeping media back from the crash site, but say the chopper struck a tree and landed on its side.
The wreckage is spread out 200 feet, and there was no black box or cockpit voice recorder on the helicopter.
Governor Martin O'Malley and Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown released the following joint statement Sunday following the crash:
"On behalf of all Marylanders, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of State Police Pilot Steven Bunker, Trooper First Class Micky Lippy, EMT Tanya Mallard, and Ashley Younger, who perished in the awful crash of the Medevac helicopter "Trooper 2" early this morning. Their sacrifice is a tragic and sobering reminder that even when most of us are asleep, our first responders are still protecting us, regardless of conditions, risking their lives to help others. It is our hope that on this Sunday, we can each find a few moments to offer a prayer in their memory, and for the quick recovery of Ms. Jordan Wells, who remains in critical condition at Prince George's Hospital Center."
State Police have defended the helicopter command, and the audit noted the unit had an "impeccable" safety record.
State Police have grounded all of their flights until the cause of the crash can be determined. Other states and private companies will cover Maryland in the meantime, Sheridan said.
The crash, one of a growing number of air ambulance accidents that has prompted aviation officials to begin planning a public hearing, happened after the pilot twice radioed for help in foggy weather.
The bodies have been removed from the site, but the wreckage remained night, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said.
About 30 people have died in such crashes during that period, Hersman said.
Medical aircraft crashes have been increasing since the 1990s, in part because it is a booming business, fueled by the closing of emergency rooms in rural areas and an aging population, according to the National EMS Pilots Association.
However, the state-run program in Maryland does not charge for its services and has been known for its safety record. It has had just three other fatal helicopter crashes in four decades.
"We are the only operation in the country that has the multiple mission of medevac, search and rescue, law enforcement, homeland security," State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said. Killed in the crash Sunday were pilot Stephen Bunker, 59; flight paramedic Mickey Lippy, 34; emergency medical technician Tanya Mallard, 39; and 18-year-old Ashley Younger. Younger and Jordan Wells, who survived the crash, were involved in the traffic accident in Charles County.
As they approached, the pilot radioed that he was having trouble assessing his surroundings. At 11:55 p.m., he again asked for assistance with the landing and that was the last air traffic controllers heard from him, Hersman said.
The chopper crashed around midnight, three miles from the base, Hersman said. The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the cause of the crash.
Rescue workers found the heavily damaged chopper lying on its side, pinned under a large tree that had to be removed with a chain saw.
Hersman said this type of aircraft is not required to carry a voice recorder or data recorder, and this particular helicopter had neither.
She said American Eurocopter, which built the craft, and Turbomeca, which manufactured the engine, are helping with the investigation.
The recent increase in medical helicopter accidents has triggered the safety board to hold a public hearing on the matter, Hersman said, though no date had been set.
A federal investigation in 2006 found there were 55 air ambulance accidents from 2002 to 2005, prompting the safety board to issue four recommendations, including higher standards for medical aircraft and more stringent decision-making in determining whether to fly in bad weather.
Crashes in Texas, Wisconsin and Arizona, where two medical helicopters were in a fiery collision in June, have underscored the dangers of the medical flights. Some have questioned whether it would be safer to transport patients by ground ambulance.
Dr. Bryan Bledsoe, an emergency medicine physician who teaches at the University of Nevada and has researched accident rates of medical helicopters, said Sunday the Maryland medevac system has a good safety record, but medical flights are overused nationwide.
"We've just gotten into a situation here in the United States where we think that the helicopters are a panacea," Bledsoe said.
"And they are an important tool, but they are just a tool. We vastly overuse them, patients don't benefit and they are expensive."
There is a tendency to fly in questionable weather, he said. In many cases, the flights aren't justified because the distance to the nearest hospital is not that great or the injuries are not severe enough, he said.
A recent state legislative audit faulted the police agency for failing to document maintenance needs and costs for its fleet of 12 twin-engine helicopters. The helicopter that crashed was bought in 1989, the second-oldest in the fleet, which is paid for, in part, by an annual charge on residents' vehicle registration. It had been inspected Wednesday, State Police Superintendent Terrence Sheridan said.
State Police have grounded all of their flights until the cause of the crash can be determined. Other states and private companies will cover Maryland in the meantime, Sheridan said.
An aunt of Mallard, the medical technician killed in the crash, said she was proud of her niece's work.
"I lost someone I truly, truly love, I'm sorry for everybody else's loss," Cheri Douglas said. "My family is truly, truly hurt."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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