The Wizard of Oddz: A Statistical Analysis of HEMS Accidents and Risk

Have we achieved Vision Zero? While the past three years have seen dramatic improvements, since 1998, the HEMS community has averaged nearly 11 accidents and 4 fatal accidents every year. In one year alone, our accidents took the lives of 29 people. Despite the opportunity for lessons learned, new policies, practices and recommendations from various sources, we continue to see HEMS accidents every year and we continue to have more questions than answers. Do you have the answer? Does your program? Your aviation operator? Our community? The FAA or the NTSB? Sadly, one thing is certain there will be more accidents. What are we doing about it and what are you doing to improve your odds to avoid being the next accident? This annually updated presentation will provide a statistical analysis of HEMS programs, the number of helicopters, total flight hours and annual accidents. Most important, the presentation will provide the most accurate calculation of HEMS accident rates and fatal accident rates available. The presentation will conclude with an overview of numerous risk number of accidents and improve overall HEMS safety.