WHY Did This Medical Helicopter Run Out of Fuel and Crash? - LifeNet of the Heartland/Airmethods (5)

[@TheDrMedic]

If ever there was an avoidable accident, it’s this one. I truly appreciate you folks taking the time to watch this video. If you thought it was good please like and subscribe and even feel free to hit that “thanks” button so we can keep this channel going and make it grow. If you have a story or incident you’d like me to review please let me know in the comments below! Cheers!👊🤙🙏💙

[@lloydmorrison5979]

As a student pilot, my instructor advised me to watch "Air Disasters", to learn by others mistakes. 2 weeks later, while doing my preflight inspection, I used my high-power flashlight, looking at the control cables, and the rudder and elevator connections. My instructor asked me "What are you looking for?" I replied, "Anything and Everything!" I later told my instructor about a short flight air shuttle disaster where the control cables were frayed and finally broke during the flight killing everyone on board. Learning from another disasters, we learn NOT to repeat them.

[@J.C...]

I could only like this once so... 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@J.C...]

There's "Blancoliirio" on here, also. He goes over recent crashes pretty well.

[@deaf2819]

You check all the cables from yoke to the surface while you were at it or nah?

[@christianjackson]

@@deaf2819 he also used his high powered flashlight to inspect the lock wire on the oil filter. A++ student

[@deaf2819]

@@christianjackson lmao, I bet

[@WoodyAH64]

Unfortunately this was obviously pilot error and completely avoidable. I would like to address a comment by the narrator that Army hello pilots do not practice autorotations. This is completely untrue. As an Instructor Pilot/Instrument Examiner in the AH-64 (A,D,&E) with more than 6K hours in the aircraft we train and practice “autos” on a regular basis. The difference is that we are not allowed “touchdown autos”, and terminate the maneuver typically around 20’ AGL. In the sim we do train and take it to the ground. Even at 18K pounds the 64 will auto very well (especially the E model) as long as the Nr (rotor) is maintained. Helicopters typically do not “want” to fly and are basically “beating the air into submission”. They’re a joy/challenge to fly but training is a must, especially EPs (Emergency Procedures).

[@TheDrMedic]

Hi there WoodyAH64. First, thanks so much for your service to this country. Much appreciation. For clarification, the comment about autorotations in AH64s was actually placed in quotes in this video, and that was because it was pulled directly from the NTSB report. The investigators did do interviews with many other pilots, including some pilots with the knowledge of the accident pilot’s Army training records in the Apache. I trust what you’re saying as well, and I’m sure you know that even the best investigations can get some things lost in translation. I wonder if what you are saying about not allowing touchdown autos is more of what the interviewed pilots were referring to when answering the questions to these investigators? Thanks again for your input and, more importantly, your service to our pilots and our country.

[@Dark_Knight_USA]

Greetings Sir. I concur. USANG-AZ Ret'd. I was familiarized with the 64 back in the 80s when I was in. My MOS was the 35s so I was more than familiar with helos and procedures of that time. My interests were and are of all helos prior, then and now. Indeed such an avoidable tragic incident. A waste of good resources and life.

[@zosukumakunene8761]

@@TheDrMedic With the sentiment of Bat’s last statement. While I appreciate DoctorMedic’s speculation about the mental dynamics of the accident pilot, I think DoctorMedic you were a bit to generous on potential pilot excuses. Mistakes including missing preflight check, misreading fuel status, taking massive fuel risks with a patient onboard, and then being absolutely clear it was a movie-style gamble to get the refuel, and finally (crazily) to be personal texting throughout right up until 10 minutes before impact….. No guys. We should understand yes, but certainly also be a harsher in your narrative and not make so many speculative excuses, so other (especially younger pilots) can learn from the critical dangers of not following procedures. Like the patient being critical so the pilot had get-there-itis… if so why continue texting in flight? It’s just bad, bad, bad. Otherwise man, another great report. Keep it up, I support the channel.

[@RamadiTaxiDriver60M]

Good stuff Woody. 64 guy and 60 guy myself. I think what they are saying is touch down autos are no longer done in the Lakota vs the full down autos done in the 57/58 A-C like when you and I went through.

[@SidB94]

I am a retired Army helicopter IP I retired in 96. I remember when the Army stopped doing touchdown auto’s. I became a civilian check airman for a major helicopter company. We did touchdown autos to land and water. I believe anyone can fall out of the sky for the 1st 10,000 feet, but it is the final 100’ that make all the difference in a successful autorotation. This can not be realisticly done with power recoveries or simulators.

[@greenbeenie2]

As a instrument rated, fix wing pilot, retired military, I do not understand why the pilot would not do a preflight check USING A CHECKLIST. One thing the military is good about is using checklist. I have never flown with or known of any military pilot not using a checklist. As you stated, the personal issues in his life, but.....we ALL have personal issues in the military, that does not make/allow us to not use checklist. just my humble opinion. Thank you for your really good videos, please keep it up.

[@pmullins1495]

Yes !! Checklist, checklist, checklist, checklist, checklist, !!!

[@emmap.7314]

Thank you for your service!

[@jonasbaine3538]

Complacency results in skipping checklist

[@jhonlewis5758]

As a CFI I can give you a simple answer to why he wouldn’t and that is complacency. You use the same aircraft long enough it will start to become second nature to run through preflights or do flows that you do that make things smoother and simpler, and generally more safe as long as its backed up with a proper look at the checklist. However when you find yourself doing things by memory more and more often, and you get more and more comfortable, the checklist feels increasingly useless, aka you get more and more complacent. Then eventually you don’t use the checklist at all, and one day you forget an important step on the checklist, and an accident happens.

[@tjroelsma]

@@jhonlewis5758 Sure, but the Army, Navy and Airforce are very good in forcing checklists and/or safety checks to become automatisms. It's almost literally being hammered in during training. It's often explained as "these rules are literally written in the blood of others". For this pilot, with his military training and experience, pre-flighting a helicopter should have been as natural as flying the helicopter.

[@williamursery2554]

As a current Army aviator and a EMS pilot I can tell you that we do practice autorotations in the Army, just not to the ground.

[@cv7245]

Does this include Apaches? Curious, not trying to dispute your knowledge.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Former Navy here... not a pilot, but time on an LPD (Landing Platform and Docking, for those who don't know ship designations)... AND that's what I thought. Flight training across the services is pretty intensive. It might be "disciplined" so not to risk more equipment than absolutely necessary, but they don't just "slack off training" for that. Double the rep's and don't commit to break anything... At least, that was (usually) the philosophy in the Navy... Where we wouldn't "follow through completely" (as in autorotate to the ground, or actually fire off the "consumable" device) we WOULD go back over and over and over the whole procedure to be sure ALL the steps are absolutely and fully understood and memorized... AND yeah, that absolutely SHOULD include the Apaches... You can't autorotate a bird until you've autorotated YOUR bird... period. They're all a little idiosyncratic, so just because you have autorotated in a Sea King, it doesn't make you an experienced pilot in an Apache or any other... It's the same reason they list your hours "On Type". ;o)

[@mbail64]

This was a sad day. As a friend of the medic and nurse. I could say bad things about the mistakes that happened. Thanks for sharing this.fly safe

[@figfire]

I remember learning about this when training to be a dispatcher at airmethods in Omaha. I too know more to this story. Ugh!

[@mbail64]

@Brian Newton. Yes so much more to this story. Also some great video that Randy's daughter did to remember her dad.

[@brandonmay8096]

What’s the “so much more”? I’m intrigued. If there’s more to it then spill the beans!

[@fire1937]

I’m sorry for your loss bro. I lost a buddy in the line of duty back in 2016. It can be really difficult holding on to information that isn’t public knowledge.

[@triplereed1]

My guess is crystal meth or ??? I just find it hard to believe someone in that position could be that irresponsible without being on drugs.

[@jimmayors2315]

@13:52, you described that the pilot was assigned to a base in SD and drove to cover this base in MO, then said the pilot was determined to have been off duty for the 5 days prior to the day of the accident. Travelling from your home base to a base where you are assigned a flight is known as a deadhead (ground transportation), and that should have been considered duty. This is not reconciled in the NTSB report. Also, in the NTSB docket (interview transcripts), after he arrived at the hotel the night before the accident, it was stated he attended an on-line recurrent training session until about midnight. This also is not consistent with being off duty and was not reconciled in the NTSB report. It was said he reported for duty at about 0600a [early] the morning of the accident. Normally, there is a 10 hour consecutive rest requirement in Part 135. This was not reconciled by the NTSB in the final report

[@shimmer8289]

Fatigue management is crucial in the aviation industry as being tired on ground can cause slight but deadly errors and being *tired* in the air can translate to being slightly drunk.

[@cv7245]

I really like how these videos really don't point fingers at the pilot, just the mistakes/missed chances to avoid an accident.

[@crazyralph6386]

Will never forget my old helicopter instructors profound(yet morbid) words of wisdom, which has stuck with me for over 20 years- “There are two REALLY BAD things that can happen to a pilot 1)waking up beside a dead underage prostitute and 2)running out of fuel”. In other words, you don’t want to be THAT pilot remembered for either.

[@Uberaroundtheworld530]

I think your boss was a child predator 😂

[@Whoadayson]

Im glad you brought up the autorotation method, as I was wondering why that wasnt employed, but you went over it all very well. Thank you

[@archer0770]

FYI; I worked on a medical helicopter for MANY years in Northern California. Weight is ALWAYS an issue when flying, to the point that only enough fuel would be loaded to complete the flight but sometimes weather can change flight directions to or from the location. The other issue is the weight of the patient and the elevation of the responding location and air temperature. The amount of information needed is amazing. There were several times we ran close to the edge by having to change directions due to bad weather. (Never had to make an “emergency” landing or crashing. Whenever there is an “incident” that involves a medical helicopter, no matter where in the US, they were always reviewed by our crew for educational reasons. As far as hours of pilot flight time, our facility requires 5,000 hours before they can fly a medical helicopter which is well beyond what the state requires. Our ship was also a 350-B, A-Star. It’s a good ship, a little small but a good ship.

[@helidoc2156]

ĺp

[@alanm8932]

In the 350-B what is the system for the pilot being aware of the fuel level? (I think the video only talks about the 20 minute fuel warning light). Unlikely, but I'm just wondering if this is a system where the pilot checks fuel level during pre-flight and then enters that level into a flight computer and for the reminder of the flight, what he sees is a fuel level based on that, possibly erroneous initial value, less what the computer calculates has been consumed by the engine. Maybe while his crew are doing their thing after landing, he does another physical check of the fuel level and finds it's much less than his flight computer was telling him during the first leg of the flight. Given what you're saying about fuel management with EMS in the 350-B it seams incredible that he didn't have more awareness of the fuel situation right from the start. Presumably you have a minute or so at start up, while the engine is getting up to temperature and the main rotor is getting up to speed when you would be confirming things like fuel level? I guess his mind is on setting up navigation to a destination he hadn't contemplated until a few minutes ago. Would he really report 2 hours fuel on the radio without having looked at any fuel gauge? Is he just saying that because it's what he always says and he hasn't actually looked at a guage since he got in the aircraft? Or has he read 2 hours fuel from a guage that's only saying that because he (or previous crew) told the computer that was the fuel level?

[@tanagra2]

Brilliant video. Your investigation on the dim light was amazing. I am surprised that a warning light would not take priority and shine through the dim status.

[@P-J-W-777]

James being a former Army Apache pilot was to use to having a trusting his ground crews to comb over every detail of his aircraft as well as assuring proper fuel load out due the military’s methodical checks and balances as well as training. It’s upsetting to hear about all the text messaging especially with his experience. Maybe he was just to use to all the systems automation and autopilot systems on the Apache. As a former firefighter and paramedic I’ve noticed that cellphones play a major role in most of the accidents that I worked and it’s sad that people don’t understand that and one reason why I really hate cellphones. Going back to the 80’s and 90’s when I grew up we didn’t have that problem and looking back I realize that it was great. Really wondering why fuel wasn’t added when it was originally reported as being low as well.

[@ralphbove]

Very nice summation. I was in a leadership position in HEMS at the time and was very familiar with this accident.

[@hydrashieldbasementservice8453]

Outstanding video!! Super detailed explanation. Tragic... preventable and final.

[@rogercamp2910]

As an ex medevac jockey, you never refuel with a patient on board. The Huey I flew for the German ADAC was always refuelled on landing back at base. This is a clear case of pilot error.

[@jimmayors2315]

The company and FAA has approved in the GOM procedures for refueling the aircraft with a patient aboard.

[@stephengriffith2539]

Maybe your company didn't refuel with a patient on board Roger, I guess you had short legs. There is no restriction from the FAA, and I have to do it when required by leg length.

[@rogercamp2910]

@@stephengriffith2539 yes we did. Max 50 miles or 250 when ferrying.

[@bruticus0875]

Dude, the lengths you go to so that every pilot failure gets every single mitigating excuse for their failure.......it's really a sight to behold man. You're extremely talented executive material.

[@CC-bq7wk]

A new pilot that worked for Air Evac based out of Logan, WV, ran out of fuel literally minutes from the fuel ramp. Rather than flying straight to the ramp he elected to use the runway and hover taxi. He ran out of fuel. Upon landing, he jumped out of the aircraft as the med crew chased him down to kick his ass. As far as I know he quit or was consequently terminated. No excuses to not know how much fuel you have...

[@marthakrumboltz2710]

While not removing pilot error from the aftermath, the low fuel light should NOT be able to be dimmed under any circumstances.

[@RustyZipper]

So if you’re running NVG’s you want a bright light beaming in your face? 🤷‍♂️

[@carlwilliams6977]

They say that it usually takes several mistakes or miscues to create an accident. That was certainly true in this case, and all of them were made by the "pilot". However, to not be able to auto rotate into a open field when he knew he was on fumes, is inexcusable! What a needless tragedy!

[@kylieharrison3782]

Ego!

[@x--.]

The report says "a successful autorotation was only possible if simultaneous flight control inputs of down collective and aft cyclic were made within about 1 to 2 seconds after the engine failure." And that's probably being generous. He was 115 knots, 275ft and probably had the runway in sight. He needed to perform a maneuver requiring HEAVY application aft cyclic. How often had he practiced that? He had never practiced autorotation at such a high speed. He may not have realized it but he had committed to "We're going to get there or we're going to die trying."

[@carlwilliams6977]

@@x--. Thanks for the analysis! As a non-pilot, helicopters absolutely amaze me, for the same reason they terrify me! They rely on so many complicated things working perfectly to fly. The statistics* tell me that auto rotation is a very tricky procedure. Every helicopter pilot I've talked to, assures me it's not! I wonder if that's because if they really consider what's keeping them in the air, they might stop flying!😄 *By "statistics" I should say that's my observation of how many reports of helicopters I've seen, falling out of the sky uncontrollably.

[@x--.]

@@carlwilliams6977 As I read it, as a non-expert, the procedure in a general sense isn't very tricky but, at least in this case, it was very tricky. High speed, low altitude, descending. And then boom, engine out and before you can finish saying, "Oh _______, that's a..." you have to have initiated the maneuver or you're dead. So the action might not be that tricky but quickly recognizing the problem and the response needed and initiating it.... I would never want to be in that situation.

[@carlwilliams6977]

I guess the lesson is: If you're foolish enough to roll the dice flying on fumes, at least use some of the fuel you still have, to gain some altitude.

[@h20productions]

One of the key elements missing from your discussion was data obtained by Airbus when they recreated the incident in the sim at Grand Prairie. Even with factory pilots who knew they would experience an engine failure, the only scenario that resulted in a positive outcome was when they applied aft cyclic upon recognition of the failure. Simply lowering the collective does not induce adequate airflow into the rotor system to prevent rotor rpm decay. Because of the low altitude, rotor rpm decayed and was unrecoverable as evidenced by the condition of the rotor blades at the accident site. This was discussed in depth at HAI in Anaheim after the accident occurred. We teach to always apply aft cyclic first in conjunction with reducing collective pitch anytime there is a suspected loss of power to ensure rotor rpm is maintained and that adequate airflow up through the rotor disc is there to initiate autorotation. We do day and night touchdown autorotations as a routine component of training. Cyclic-back would have made a significant difference in the outcome of this incident.

[@TheDrMedic]

You are 💯 on point

[@medicmark9683]

Love your videos I just retired last month 33 years as a paramedic here in eastern Ontario Canada iv always been interested in helicopters and how it fits into ems, we have a little different air ambulance system up here then you guys. Love the video about the dissecting aneurism and the TPA I’ve got caught up with the same scenario as you did even though no blame was ever sent my way at the end of the day the pt. Still died and that always hurts. So thank you for sharing your story and I look forward to watching your videos…thanks mark

[@TheDrMedic]

Hi Mark. Thanks for watching and I also do plan on some stories from Canada. Stay tuned!

[@brianford8493]

Brilliant stuff mate.....hats offski!!!!

[@emmaypomobude6946]

Thanks a lot @drmedic, am not a flight medic yet but hope to be one someday, and this video has thought me a lot. it was sad it ended in tears but lessons has been learnt, Distraction is a killer in any rescue even on a ground transport. As a paramedic wether flight or ground ambulance I think it's of greater good if one understands the mechanics of the transport type. Because in as much as you are critically thinking you are also been observant and conscious of your environment even inside your transport vehicle. If the flight medic and nurse knows about the mechanics of the flight vehicle they may have as well suggested to James to perform the autorotation which may have help reduced the impact or something.

[@mbail64]

I should have also said Randy Beaver and Chris Frakes you will never be forgotten and will always be missed

[@divineknowledge4607]

And I'd bet the air ambulance company deducted the $50,000 flight fee from the patients families lawsuit.

[@jasoncentore1830]

Guaranteed they will go after that $$$$$$$

[@travelwithtony5767]

Imagine how bad the people that told the patient he was being transported to another hospital to save their life must have felt. 😮

[@Ooshwink82]

Well one good thing for the family is they went from getting a hospital bill to getting a settlement and may have lost their family member either way.

[@sevengramrocks2746]

⁠one moment you’re here, gone the next… but at least your kin is gettin payed

[@rocketscienceinstituteinc8993]

Well presented: professional and educational in every way. Thanks you.

[@dwightbernheimer331]

Unexcusable... Or you Can't Fix Stupid... Take your pick... I used to fly with a friend of mine in his Enstrom... He put a radio with a sound system in that ship. I told him if you're going to listen to heavy metal while you are flying, I will NOT be sitting next to you... 'Nuff said!!!...

[@myjeanification]

Well this channel has convinced me to never get in a medical chopper. Why so I many crashes? It’s not like they’re flying out of JFK every 3 minutes.

[@markschnell]

As a helicopter mechanic I noted that after the dual controls were removed there was not an operational flight check ordered by the mechanic by an entry in the logbook. This would be a standard operational procedure for flight control maintenance. If a operational flight check had been completed before return to service the pilot should have noticed the fuel level on that flight and/or on his pre-flight check. Apparently, operational flight checks for flight control maintenance was not policy for Air Methods at the time of the accident.

[@Arykperry]

Sad story honestly, my wife works as a flight nurse on her days off at the hospital and I can’t help but be horrified by this situation. I do know that they go into reserve fuel more often then you’d ever hope, due to the unknown time on scene they sometimes face but pilots are typically hell bent on recalculating fuel times every few mins. To be waiting for a fuel light is ridiculous and not common !!!

[@robertruiz9466]

Excellent video love the professional content

[@TheDrMedic]

Much appreciated

[@SidB94]

I can not think of any situation that would be a reason to run out of fuel. I am an ATP rated helicopter pilot with over 10,000 accident free hours. 😊

[@TheDrMedic]

Me neither

[@RustyZipper]

I 💯 agree, I’m an exterminator with 9 years of experience

[@spikenomoon]

Or a 737. Somehow someway Humans can find a way to do the impossible. It’s almost like a computer glitch or like being disconnected from the internet and Wi-FI. The information should be downloaded but it’s not.

[@ZGryphon]

Well, there was that one airliner that had a main fuel line failure and dumped most of its fuel over the Atlantic, but I would assume something like that would be a lot more obvious in a helicopter than an A330.

[@jamesretta5690]

Will save lives - total analysis

[@x--.]

This was such a sad accident and the NTSB report was excellent. I think the evidence that he knew he was critically low on fuel is stronger than this video implies. I believe the NTSB report mentions the high-speed of the helicopter as being a factor in the need to react within 1 to 2 seconds (along with altitude). He was riding a prayer. It's possible, though, that actual autorotation training would have given him the ability to more quickly recognize the loss of power and appropriate course of action. Truly such a sad outcome and an accident where there were fewer chances for it to be caught (obviously, fuel issues going to the pilots would have been a great opportunity to make this just another day at the office, instead of what actually happened).

[@southshore2357]

Their comes a point that you have to say Everyone stop get off my back NOW regroup , reorganizing and restart . As a manger I have had to do this a time or two . Things get out of control and you have to get things back in line.🚑🚑🚑🚑🚑

[@scottsarchitecturehildebra1761]

Great thorough video!

[@daveblevins3322]

Similar accident back in 2001 on a BK 117 out of Dallas, although all survived (no patient). The center console light was on from the previous night, same scenario. Lights dimmed, on a beautiful day. The pilot however, is a quadriplegic.

[@TheDrMedic]

I will have to check that one out. Stay safe!

[@andrewlewis5251]

dude.... is that a freggin Antec900 case behind you? BASED!

[@TheDrMedic]

That it is! I have built that thing up, tore it down, and rebuilt probably 4 new systems over the years in that case. Love it! 🤓🤙

[@voteforwho]

Nice preflight!

[@campkohler9131]

Why doesn’t the low fuel alarm have an audio warning that would allow all aboard to hear it, even if headset audio failed? It might get the med crew to nag the pilot about the situation. The whole idea of single pilot operation strikes me as nuts. Maybe the theory is “there’s a med crew right there in case the pilot has a heart attack, stroke or other incapacitating event.”Good grief!

[@LatitudeSky]

Get there-itis can affect ANY task at any time, where a goal is in sight, or when exhaustion causes everything else to be disregarded except the goal. It has affected almost everyone who drives. If you have found yourself driving faster and faster as you get close to your destination, that's a version of get there-itis. And yes it's dangerous in a car or plane. It means you have lost situational awareness which in turns compromises whatever you are doing. Same thing happens every day where I work as quality starts to take a backseat to getting the work out the door. Likewise, when the end of shift is approaching, there is a push to get one last task done and we have found that last hour has a dramatically higher rate of human error and machinery faults because the operators cut corners to rush that last work. RIP to those who lost their lives and condolences to their families. May this loss be a lesson for all of us.

[@hueginvieny7959]

I find it crazy that the pilot did not use a pre flight check list. I can start a plane and fly it with out using a check list but the check list stops you from assuming your have fuel or that everything is set up. This was completely avoidable and other people payed the price of his carelessness

[@jamesroberts9825]

Outstanding video!!!

[@TheDrMedic]

Glad you liked it! More to come!

[@kellik5453]

How can you give estimates on fuel without simply looking at the gauge? Even though the checks were missed for pre-flight, the gauge is on the instrument panel in front of your face.

[@x--.]

Confirmation bias. He believed he was at 70% and did not check to confirm. It's powerful, it happens to everyone, it takes serious training to get out of the habit.

[@GaiusCaesarAugustusGermanicus.]

Fact check: all Army flight crew members go through autorotation training. If I remember correctly it was an 1 hour training requirement conducted annually.

[@dwightmcqueen5771]

Military pilots don't always make the best pilots trust me I know I'm former army myself

[@RustyZipper]

A Pilot who doesn’t look at the gauges won’t stay in flight long … #FortuneCookie

[@jqb101]

Army absolutely does autos in the Apache. We just terminate to a hover to prevent touchdown damage.

[@avalanche9026]

Negligence gross tragic. No excuse running out of fuel ? A basic very basic responsibility

[@melissajohnson2935]

As a rotor (and fixed) wing medical dispatcher I can tell you the qualifications needed to meet air transportation criteria is astonishingly low. I'd say probably 50% of our from scene flights to ED and maybe 10% of our ED to ED transport flights are discharged in less than 24 hours of arriving. Thank God I don't work in the billing department dealing with insurance companies and patients that have that bill. Those people are the real mvp in the accounts receivable billing world.

[@TheDrMedic]

That's an excellent point, Melissa. The HEMS medical billing aspect is definitely a future video!

[@stevepoland1406]

Absolutely agree! Some are even discharged before the crew gets back to base. I have always said the Communications Specialist MUST be included in the entire flight process. I have asked numerous pilots to repeat their fuel onboard to confirm what they said and questioned why when they lift with 2 hours of fuel, flew 30 minutes and then lifted from the scene with 1 hour 45 minutes to reconfirm the fuel. Awesome video

[@nwanchorcertification]

@@TheDrMedic the billing would be an amazing topic I am a rotor wing weekend warrior but this sound super interesting

[@change_your_oil_regularly4287]

I think it is just as likely that he turned the switch to the night position so the med crew couldn't see the low fuel light 🤷‍♂

[@gnagyusa]

I have an EC120B and I'm obsessively conservative about fuel. Legally, you can fly a helicopter down to 20m fuel reserve, but I prefer to have at least an hour. It paid dividends a couple of times.

[@yellowrose0910]

Not a helicopter designer but you'd *think* that something as important as You're In Emergency Fuel! would have a very distinct and very *audible* alarm as well as a tiny apparently very dimmable 'warning' light... I mean it seems like airliners have alarms going off all the time for every little thing (which itself can be a problem -- oversaturation), so it's not like this is a novel concept...

[@akkseljohansson3601]

Average time to initiate a stable AR is 1,3 sec after engine flameout or drive shaft failure. Main problem in the training is, that the autorotations are not performed with the full load. There is a huge difference in autorotation between a half fueled, 2 pax to a MTOM ship. A MTOM A-Star/130 has kinda 80deg steep autorotation angle.

[@michaeleberl4858]

We attended Bell Helicopter Training Center in Fort Worth TX yearly for emergency training. Auto's were performed to the ground at minimum weight in the Bell407 with no additional equipment such as night sun, skid floats, or FLIR. We did primary NVG training at our home base with a Bell instructor in our actual helicopters. It was as you mentioned, a completely different rate of descent and yaw. It came down very fast compared to the training in Texas.

[@x--.]

Report agrees. The training was at 80 knots. And the report notes that training emphasizes lowering the collective and doesn't highlight that "the pilot may need to make a substantial aft cyclic input within 1.5 seconds of engine failure to achieve a successful autorotation entry."

[@scottwheeler1641]

I agree with everything here, however. I would also add that texting someone that you know is driving or flying should be equally examined. Pestering someone with texts is a good way of causing an accident.

[@TheDrMedic]

This is an excellent point. I wonder if there is any precedence for holding someone accountable on the OTHER end of the phone?

[@Dark_Knight_USA]

@@TheDrMedic Greetings: Probably not. But give the idiot legislators time. They have already come up with a "holding cellphone law in many states as well as FMCSR. Does the phrase 'contributing or conspiracy 2 involuntary manslaughter ' make sense? I know both carry felony disciplinary action. Such is the mindless irresponsibility of society 2day. Su'h is leading 2 our demise.

[@francescotorri9353]

You know someone is on shift. And may be you suppose he is smart enough not to text and fly, expecially when there is a fuel issue.

[@shimmer8289]

Solution no phones in cockpit except if a phone is vital to flying aircraft. They should be locked away upon entry to aircraft.

[@Dark_Knight_USA]

@@shimmer8289 Greetings: As in most job applications. Ex: Auto Mfrs defects: Assembly line worker- "Hold the line, I'm CKg my Face junk Msgs." Line operator - "I missed that, I was on my social media".

[@grantman103]

so very sad. I was a Firefighter/Paramedic for 30 years. I was on the ground waving goodbye as the helo flew away with my patients. It seems that preforming a flight mission would be taxing enough. When you take in account all the other circumstances in play on the day of the crash it’s no wonder a crash occurred. Thanks for your Videos. Its clear that you are a knowledgeable guy and that you put a lot of time and research into the production of your content. One thing i found distracting though is your black nail polish. I guess it’s cause i’m from a different generation. Overall I think you have a great channel and i wish you the best of luck.

[@TheDrMedic]

Thanks for the input Christopher. And thank you for a long career of service to your community. When I am not making videos I spend most of my time pretending to be a rock star,,,,hence the nails. I am a terrible rock star though... ;-) I appreciate your words, sir!

[@med1pilot1956]

I've never understood how they can provide overall patient care in the Astar. They only have access to the head and shoulders of the patient. How do they care for a trauma patient with multiple physical injuries?

[@surfside75]

There is no excuse at all since he clearly understood they had not enough fuel. Absolutely disgraceful.

[@ThatSouthernGirlSarah96]

It's confusing to me from the air medical dispatch perspective, while I can't speak for all companies of course. But as far as the company I work for dispatch also has protocols for if a pilot gives us ETE vs minutes of fuel criteria that if underneath a certain amount of minutes of fuel when they land, we notify our in house at dispatch pilots who then will coordinate with the pilot and crew on the flight for a refuel en route to prevent being in that "critical fuel" range.. I also would have concerns in pilot saying he would evaluate the level of fuel once in the air, for our company if we take a pre lift for short flights over to refuel from the drop off or wherever, it is a common occurrence for them to go into the aircraft and in that moment give us the accurate fuel what the aircraft is at in that moment, in my opinion gives them another safety net in dispatch if perhaps we can catch the fuel issue when given the flight plan and notify necessary parties to adjust accordingly. I would think most air ambulance companies (but can only speak for my own) would be taught about it to be able to then help catch those close calls fuel wise as a team effort, leaving less room for human errors and confusions..

[@YouHornyTuber]

Haven't ant of these people heard of a fuel gage? One look at the fuel gage should tell them how much fuel they have left.

[@notwhereyouthink]

This was loss of life was totally unacceptable and was nothing more than pilot negligence. There were so many things wrong here it beggars belief that this airman went ahead with the flight. No proper sleep the night before, no preflight or fuel checks and texting in flight?

[@rigilchrist]

I'm a former private pilot of single-engine helicopters. This accident reminds me of a Police helicopter crash in 2013 in Scotland. That a/c ran out of all fuel and crashed into a club, killing 9 (incl. 3 on the ground). At the time, the Police helicopter training did not include full autorotations - because double engine failures are so rare. As this Pilot sometimes flew a twin, perhaps he became complacent. What surprises me about the LifeNet crash is that the pilot knew he was low on fuel - so why did he not cruise higher - perhaps low ceilings were a factor? An engine failure creates an unexpected yaw - pilots of single-engine craft must then do SOMETHING. At 115kts, a mild flare would have kept the main rotor turning.

[@TheDrMedic]

I definitely need to check out that Scottish accident.

[@x--.]

115kts, 275ft. The simulator recreation they did required heavy application of aft cyclic and down collective within 1 to 2 seconds of engine out. He likely had the runway in sight (1nm away) and was descending in an attempt to pay off his gamble. Given the description they give of losing engine power I can easily imagine he was too startled for those 1 to 2 seconds, having probably never experienced this scenario (simulated or otherwise).

[@RobertJamesChinneryH]

Common sense also dictates an audible and visible indication of low fuel...as an aside I live in Canada in a fairly large city with many many obstacles to flight and have never heard of one accident with a helicopter (they fly over my home on a daily basis to a hospital in a downtown area).

[@gordonshaw5381]

I can’t believe combat pilots do not do autorotations. The mind boggles.

[@michaelnehring9124]

Well....there is a low fuel light...and plenty of spots to put it down before the yard dart situation...he also never verified the fuel quantity before the flight, as per the check list.......tisk, tisk, tisk...

[@graememckay9972]

I'm sure a police helicopter in Glasgow, Scotland ran out of fuel and the pilot decided to land on a pub roof. The roof collapsed and lots of people were killed.

[@baaamakingbaaaa]

Is this like the movie Semi Pro? Do you have eyeliner on? It might be working because I am totally paying attention.

[@kevinvt4174]

Pilot was a total Idiot. Fuel up with patient on board? Flying under 500 AGL . Did not check fuel then lied about it? By looking at the crash that's no auto that is a crash. To get a Commercial Helicopter license normally you have to perform a full down auto to the ground not to a hover. Like to know where this Pilot was trained after he left the Military? I had a least 25 practice auto's before my private license and you never fly under 500 AGL or auto's get really tricky. For an auto you have to have Altitude and or speed, entering an auto is not as tricky as you make it sound but being heavy with 4 souls onboard it would have been a messy auto but most likely no one would have died. . There is a great Video on Utube of a R44 just taking off from the airport with 3 hunters plus Pilot and he loses the engine at about 200 feet AGL and auto's into a field and they all walked away.

[@Dark_Knight_USA]

Greetings: Not a "total idiot" however, with that, I mostly concur.

[@jimbeam7160]

Very confident people, can be very incompetent and NOT SELF AWARE of their deficits. Absolutely preposterous what this pilot did and didn't do.

[@jimmayors2315]

Don't think he lied about it. He was flying a different model than what he was used to. 35% in one aircraft equal a slightly different endurance than 35% in the other. A slip error is not intentional. And, remember, he was fatigued by this time of the day after driving to the base, attending an assigned training class until midnight, and reporting for an assigned shift at 0600.

[@jimbeam7160]

@@jimmayors2315 There are no excuses that matter, but there's always some unappreciated failures to recognize contingencies that might occur. What's a "slip error"?

[@jimmayors2315]

@@jimbeam7160 A slip is one of several common (fundamental) Human Error classes and categories. Errors can be classified as slips, Lapses, mistakes, and/or violations. You are very prone to slips if you are fatigued, which they determined as a causal factor. Slips specifically: Slips (‘Whoops’) ‘Not doing what you’re meant to do’. Examples of slips include: ■ performing an action too soon in a procedure, or leaving it too late, eg not putting your ear defenders on before starting the drill; ■ omitting a step or series of steps from a task, eg forgetting to switch the kettle on while making a cup of tea; ■ carrying out an action with too much or too little strength, eg overtorquing a bolt; ■ performing an action in the wrong direction, eg a MEWP operator pushing the joystick to the left instead of the right; ■ doing the right thing but on the wrong object, eg selecting the wrong size nail for the job; and ■ carrying out the wrong check but on the right item, eg checking a dial but for the wrong value.

[@theRealBrandonRoberts1990]

could you cover the University of Kentucky Medivac crash in 1994 plz

[@theRealBrandonRoberts1990]

1999

[@samsteel2643]

The pilot was totally neglecting of pre trip inspection. The gages are there for a reason. How can one not read instruments before take off.

[@flightmedic7634]

Seems like the crew should have had a say on whether or not they were comfortable with the fuel situation. I'd guess that he withheld the fuel quantity information from the crew. I don't know any crew who would be comfortable with taking off with planning to use reserve fuel.

[@stevegibb6421]

You need 60% fuel to fly for an hour in a B2 Squirrel. The last 20% on the fuel gauge is regarded as reserve as the low fuel warning will come on at between 15 and 18 percent after which it will run out in between 5 and 20 mins depending on the accuracy of the gauge and warning set up ….. therefore you regard 20% as the minimum and most Squirrel/Astar operators will have this as their minimum, and require a landing when down to 20%.

[@cturdo]

It all boils down to preflight. Simple as that.

[@TellTheTruth1]

Please do a report/ video on airplane N661TC.

[@flamebroiledsquirrel]

Perhaps it's ignorant curiosity on my part, but, considering the complexity of modern avionics, wouldn't an autopilot autorotate sequence be a relatively simple avenue to pursue? It could vary from a single action "panic button" with a straightforward preset failure-to-ground sequence to a less intrusive autoflare at the end. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Personally, I'm not a fan of operator assists, they're fragile replacements for attentive, knowledgeable operation and tend to encourage distraction and complacency, but they have legitimate uses, and when so used, can increase the safety of inherently dangerous conditions.

[@seanhorton3811]

The term "Practice makes perfect" is inaccurate. More accurate is "Practice makes permanent." If your practice is not correct, your muscle memory will do what you practiced. You might not get the outcome you practiced for. Like practicing auto rotation without actually landing. A better and more accurate saying should be "Perfect practice makes perfect."

[@hack1n8r]

Nicely done. Sadly, it appears the pilot had a lot on his mind/plate, so much so that he neglected to (or could not) recognize his own compromised state. In the end, that's what sealed the fate of this tragic flight. So what can be done to prevent this in the future? Considering the state the pilot was in, no amount of training would have produced a different outcome, IMO. About the only thing that can be done is to add a pilot monitoring to the flights. Yes, that adds cost and weight, but it most likely would greatly reduce the likelihood of this type of accident from happening again. If weight is an issue, perhaps one of the flight nurses could be specially trained to double as a pilot monitoring. Aside from that, the only other thing that can be done is to put a rig on the aircraft that monitors all crucial systems and then uplinks that to mission ops. The center would then know if, say, the craft had enough fuel + reserves to safely make it to the destination. That is a very expensive option, both for each aircraft and the data centers, but in the end, it would help to save lives. Continued prayers for their loved ones.

[@Bendigo1]

Sounds like he was used to flying high risk flights, so was overconfident, along with being tired and distracted with issues at home. I know from experience that having stuff on your mind like that can be almost as bad as being drunk. Even with a regular routine, one single thought can cause an interruption to the routine. When you add constant texts or other communication about the topic that you are worrying about it can make things even worse. There should be policies that to train people to be aware when they are at that point where they are too distracted with outside issues and need to get help before doing something dangerous. There should be no concern about being repremanded for admitting that you can not perform a task in that condition.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

who ever thought it would be a good idea to have such long shifts in the super high stress environment of a MedEvac type pilot? what did they expect to happen?

[@jeffchung8086]

That's on your flight check list

[@RustyZipper]

He didn’t look at the check list, too busy texting his g/f

[@TheSateef]

also seems like the instrument dim should be automatic, or at least a warning if in dim mode while bright outside

[@campkohler9131]

Lesson: Stay away from helicopters!

[@trenawawrzyniak4397]

Wow ! So that pilot messed up big time . He was tired and distracted. Texting while flying. Messed up with fuel calculations . No correct preflight check. N not having to do auto rotation as training. Or simulator training. I took a ride in a Helicopter with no doors at a large fair in my state. My pilot was a former Vietnam Helicopter pilot. Something happened to the Helicopter n it's engine sputtered for a good minute. N my pilot was able to get closer to the ground. The engine stopped n my pilot was able to perform a successful auto rotation maneuver effectively. Evidently, since I lived to tell the tale. The landing was a little ruff n the skid broke on the pilot side of the copter. Thank God for very good 5point harnesses. The copter pilot was best friends with my glider pilot instructor . The copter was a 4seater . I later found out that the copter didn't belong to the pilot n the helicopter had improper maintenance done to the fuel system. The pilot was exceptional. N he did his job perfectly. That insident did not keep me from flying. The best thing about getting your pilot's license in a glider. Is learning that most planes can be glided back to the ground if you learn how to do it. A year after I got my license in the glider I was in a car accident. A drunk n high 16yr old kid who only had a lerner's permit hit me n almost killed me. I had to be airlifted to a trauma hospital. The first thing I ask the pilot was has he ever had to perform a auto rotation.

[@SergioNayar]

What heppened to the Autorotation procedure? He didn't seem to even try it as seen from the devastation.

[@x--.]

He had 1.5 seconds to recognize the power loss and initiate the highly aggressive autorotation. He was not able to.

[@Dark_Knight_USA]

I presume a lawsuit or 2 out of this. As reported I concur the NTSB findings. Such an avoidable tragic loss or resources and life.

[@terrancestodolka4829]

So sad...

[@erickdorsey556]

There was not mention of night vision googles in any summation.

[@x--.]

Daytime flight.

[@billmiller3425]

Did those earrings come with a necklace? Very cute.

[@mustangnawt1]

A mile away:( I’m so sorry to all

[@PsRohrbaugh]

I am curious why he was flying so low. I seem to remember a video discussing auto-rotation, and it said that EMS and police helicopters often fly too low to have a good chance to auto-rotate. If he had the same airspeed but even 1500' of altitude, he would have several more precious seconds.

[@Danstaafl]

Pretty sure it was to conserve fuel, altitude is not a helicopters friend, thin air costs lots more power.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

@@Danstaafl I know that's the case with higher altitudes, say 5000' and above, but I thought that 1500' was considered to be a good trade-off altitude. 650' just seems low. But that may also be an Army habit, due to having two engines & caring more about staying hidden.

[@x--.]

He was only 1nm from the airport where he was going to refuel, he was likely descending quickly in hopes of making it.

[@kamakaziozzie3038]

Having a “low fuel” indicator light is good, but how about adding an audible warning? Nothing too crazy to distract the pilot. Perhaps a buzzer every 15 seconds or so may have made the difference here.

[@x--.]

Unlikely. The gauge showed 0. The low fuel light was lit (but may have been dimmed) but the low fuel pressure light was also lit and couldn't be dimmed. He knew he was running out of gas, he was gambling that he could make it.

[@GhostDriver00]

The smart course of action would have been to ask one of the Medical Staff at the Hospital if he could borrow a Pick-Up Truck, then visit a nearby Home Depot or Lowe's and buy several, 5 Gallon Capacity Kerosene containers,; afterwards then fill them at a nearby Fuel Station that also sells Kerosene, and then fill the Fuel Tanks of the Helicopter with enough Kerosene to be able to definitively fly to the nearest Airport Fueling Station, ultimately to fill it up with Jet A/A-1/JP8 Fuel. That's the course of action I would have done.

[@x--.]

Might have been tricky to pull off as they were rolling the patient up from the ER. ;)

[@GhostDriver00]

@@x--. I would have told them to wheel the Patient back into the Emergency Dept., and ask the Medical Staff to try to keep the Patient stable for 45-60 minutes while I put 35 gallons of Kerosene into the Fuel Tanks. Better than running out of fuel and crashing.

[@GhostDriver00]

@@x--. Are you a F.A.A. Certified and Rated Helicopter Pilot?

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

This pilot was missing several standard requirements that make him a really bad pilot. On your basic flight training, fixed wing or rotary, you constantly check your fuel state. You also generally assumed that the fuel gauge read incorrectly by 10% so anytime below that you are out of fuel. There was no need for this accident for an engine out issue, he should have dropped the collective instantly, and so save lives. A light on the central warning panel would have gone off, probably with an audio warning. He missed all of these safety factors.

[@Dark_Knight_USA]

Greetings: FYI: The correlation of the 'MedVac' and Wrecker/Towing industries is similar in many aspects. They both overcharge, under certify, utilize un/under- qualified operators and equipment, underpay 4 those (pilots, drivers, mechanics) contrary the above. Repeal the Real ID Act! Enforce laws that save lives rather than take lives.

[@jameskim62]

Your mic Audio is weak.... good video

[@TheDrMedic]

Always a work in progress. Future vids shall improve!

[@adamr8628]

Is it too expensive to put a warning buzzer or other audible warning for something as important as low fuel???

[@brianphipps4442]

Is anyone questioning who the pilot was texting?

[@crazyralph6386]

Side chick?

[@RustyZipper]

💯

[@kennyb7883]

yes...yes we do. we frequently train autorotation's.

[@grahamkeates1496]

Clearly, he was focused on personal issues, resulting in a lack of sleep and distraction throughout the day. Even if a checklist is not used, just a simple FREDA check before departure and every 15-20min on route is common sense airmanship. One has to look at his whole mindset. I suspect as an Army Apache pilot, a great deal of the decision-making and parameter monitoring is made by the mission commander? Therefore, a lack of experience in critical command thinking coming to this civil environment. Also, I assume the other members of the crew were aware of the low fuel but agreed to the second departure, which does not make sense? Not seeing the low fuel warning due to the dimmer set to night mode may well have been a factor, and I was surprised NTSB dismissed it. As to the autorotation, clearly at low altitude and high speed on approach which would require a modified technique probably not practiced. This would be a quick-stop autorotation requiring a more aggressive flare with a rapid level before initiating the cushion running landing with the application of collective, thus with minimal use of height utilizing speed energy in order to keep the rotor rpm high, whereas in a normal maneuver height is used. @TheDrMedic, really thorough detailed analysis. Thank you. 👍

[@x--.]

No indication from the report that the crew knew the severity. They were also probably absorbed with patient care. He would have told them they were going to have to stop to refuel but doubtful he let them know how serious the issue was. So I don't think the NTSB ignored the issue so much as they believed the pilot had to look at the fuel gauge at some point to have realized his mistake. Also, the low fuel pressure light is _not_ dimmed by the night mode switch so would have been fully lit before the accident. The investigation indicated it was lit but by that point.....

[@grahamkeates1496]

It was pure pilot error, simple.@@x--.

[@x--.]

@@grahamkeates1496 Exactly! Exactly... pilot error. In the airlines they _expect_ pilot error so they've developed a system that pilots have checklists, backups, and even a 2nd pilot. In Medical Transport we don't implement the same safety checks, why not? Money? Laziness? Lack of awareness? What? We are only as strong as our weakest link. If pilot error is the common thread in all helicopter transport accidents then we need better safeguards by companies, the FAA, ATC, and anywhere we can support pilots AND/OR disqualify pilots who don't adhere to a strict interpretation of the rules.

[@oxfd611]

I have seen “Get-there-ites ” from the passenger seat of an ambulance. And I have been guilty of letting myself fall into this state as well from the drivers seat.