Big Helicopter Small Landing Zone – Most patients who were killed in an Air Ambulance or Rescue Crash would have gone on to “survive” their injuries if they had been “driven” to medical care – Unacceptable Risk: The Troubling Medical Helicopter Safety Record

AZUSA, Calif. (KABC) — Authorities are investigating after a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s helicopter crashed in the Angeles National Forest north of Azusa Saturday.

The incident happened near Highway 39 and East Fork Road shortly before 5 p.m., according to officials.

Officials initially said five people were aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash, but L.A. Sheriff Alex Villanueva later confirmed that a total of six people were aboard. All were taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Those aboard included a pilot and co-pilot, two paramedics, one crew chief, and a doctor from UCLA on a ride-along, Villanueva said. All are expected to survive, according to officials.

One person suffered critical injuries, two suffered moderate injuries, and another two suffered minor injuries, but all are currently in stable condition, officials said.

“They’re pretty banged up, some of them, and I’ll leave it at there’s some fractures, some broken ribs, and some things of that nature,” Villanueva said. “But thankfully nothing that is life-threatening at this time, and they’re in good hands here.”

https://abc7.com/azusa-aircraft-crash-angeles-national-forest/11665500/

Unacceptable Risk: The Troubling Medical Helicopter Safety Record

When the helicopter landed in his yard, Larry Strittmatter didn’t think about the cost. His wife Dana had accidentally burned her leg with boiling water. Instead of driving her to one of six hospitals within 15 miles of their house near Fort Worth, Texas, paramedics called a helicopter to fly Dana to the Parkland Hospital Burn Center in Dallas.

Shortly after Larry arrived, the doctors gave his wife a bandage, a prescription for Tylenol with codeine and a swift escort to the lobby. The hospital refused to admit her for such minor injuries, leaving the Strittmatters with a $17,000 flight bill. “The doctors said they were shocked and dismayed when they saw a helicopter landing,” Strittmatter says. They had been in touch with EMTs at the scene, and after hearing Dana’s injuries described had advised that she should be transported by ground ambulance.

In Arizona, 43 percent of patients transported by helicopter to hospital ERs were discharged within 24 hours, suggesting most didn’t need a helicopter at all. In Maryland, the 24-hour discharge rate for patients transported by state police helicopters was 41 percent prior to 2008.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a5814/medical-helicopter-safety-crashes/