Widow of paramedic killed in medevac crash files l

[flomaster]

I HATE lawsuits and think they are a matter of last resort and this is a "last resort" case.

The Federal Government has known for YEARS and YEARS that our ATC system is outdated and the controllers are not trained as proficiently as they should be, not to mention they are OVERWHELMED in many cases.

In this case, the pilot was given OLD wetaher information prior to liftoff which is what he used to make the decision to fly in the 1st place. Error 1 to ATC person. Most likely laziness or complacency took over, it happens! This is GROSS negligence. Not intentional, but, gross negligence.

You had an ATC person that was not trained to guide aircraft into and onto the airfield through an instrument landing approach. HELLO...you are an ATC person and you don't know how to guide an aircraft into the airport when the aircraft can't see. Hmmm...sounds negligent to me. Most probable reason for this is understaffing ATC positions and "rolling the dice" that we won't need a fully trained person at night.

The pilot for Trooper 2 is not required to be certified for instrument landings AND the aircraft he was flying was not equipped with the most recent equipment because the State of Maryland wouldn't buy it. The pilot asked the ATC person for a guided in landing. The ATC person said "I can't do that, I am not qualified."

Now, you have a pilot, flying blind because he was given bad / old weather information, in an aircraft not properly outfitted and an ATC person who can't DO what they are supposed to do, CONTROL air traffic. How the hell can you control air traffic if YOU as the ATC person don't know how to guide an aircraft in.

MAYBE the lawsuit will force the government to fix the ATC issues we have in this country. If people knew the truth about what happens when they fly, most would NOT fly!!!

SAD...SAD...SAD.

"The pilot for Trooper 2 is not required to be certified for instrument landings" Really? Find that incredibly hard to believe. Just made a call to someone inside. Their pilots MUST have instrument ratings.

 

[thurley42]

"The pilot for Trooper 2 is not required to be certified for instrument landings" Really? Find that incredibly hard to believe. Just made a call to someone inside. Their pilots MUST have instrument ratings.

to say that they didn't need an IFR cert is just ludacris.....if he didn't have his instrumentation he would be restricted to VFR conditions...so he would have been violating laws flying in those conditions..

 

[AeroTaken]

to say that they didn't need an IFR cert is just ludacris.....if he didn't have his instrumentation he would be restricted to VFR conditions...so he would have been violating laws flying in those conditions..

If either the pilot were not certified for IMC or the aircraft itself not certified for flying under IMC, then they would most likely be restricted to day VMC (because you can get "permission" for night VMC under some conditions, but NOT if the pilot is not certified for instrumented flight).

 

[gary_webb]

Has it occured to anyone that the widow may have finacial concerns about raising a 2 year old daughter who has lost her father which may or may not have been the victim of someone elses incompetence. A judge will decide, thats what he's getting paid for.

 

[vraiblonde]

Has it occured to anyone that the widow may have finacial concerns about raising a 2 year old daughter who has lost her father which may or may not have been the victim of someone elses incompetence. A judge will decide, thats what he's getting paid for.

$15 million???

 

[thurley42]

$15 million???

that will buy alot of baby food..

 

[gary_webb]

$15 million???

She's asking for 15 but will most likely settle for less. The lawyers will take 33% at least. The daughter hopefully will live to be eighteen, and will be on solid food way before then. What if she needs to go to the dentist, doctor, etc.

 

[vraiblonde]

She's asking for 15 but will most likely settle for less. The lawyers will take 33% at least. The daughter hopefully will live to be eighteen, and will be on solid food way before then. What if she needs to go to the dentist, doctor, etc.

What do other people do when they have to raise a kid alone because of death or abandonment? Who do they get to sue to help them with finances? Normally someone would have a life insurance policy for that sort of thing - good to know that Uncle Sam is such a big piggy bank.

 

[gary_webb]

that will buy alot of baby food..

She'll probably graduate to solid food sometime soon.

 

[gary_webb]

which may or may not have been the victim of someone elses incompetence. A judge will decide, thats what he's getting paid for.

Please reread this.

 

[flomaster]

to say that they didn't need an IFR cert is just ludacris.....if he didn't have his instrumentation he would be restricted to VFR conditions...so he would have been violating laws flying in those conditions..

From what I'd heard he was a very well qualified pilot. I still wonder how he could have gotten into that position. If you are in the soup at night with a patient in the back then I guess the pressure is on. As I said earlier, I wasn't in the cockpit so can't really judge on what happened. I pray that his family is doing well and things work out for the best.

 

[TurboK9]

A couple thoughts...

Where the people serving aboard trooper 2 when it went down not fully aware that helicopters can crash? That there was in inherent danger in what they were doing? Did not all aboard, with the exception of the patient, CHOOSE to be aboard that aircraft?

How is this any different from someone who is responding to a call and is killed in a vehicle accident because they hit a patch of ice and slid into a semi, or a sudden downpour caused them to hydroplane into a tree?

How is it any different from a firefighter falling through a roof into flames, and succumbing?

I could understand suing for better safety measures, etc, but for personal wealth.... It makes what that crew was doing seem meaningless. They were risking their lives to save others, and tragically, things went wrong. But all of them chose to be aboard that aircraft, they all knew the risks, and all chose to accept them. The state should willingly pay a survivors benefit if they have not already, to compensate the families for their financial losses. Somehow I doubt that this paramedic would have earned 15M over the next few years though.

Personal opinion? After a tragedy you pull up your pants, put on your boots, and get yourself back in the game. That does not include standing on a bridge and chanting 'help us' ala New Orleans. 15M seems a wee over the top considering the patient was the only person on that helo that wasn't there willingly and fully aware of the risks.

 

[itsbob]

I HATE lawsuits and think they are a matter of last resort and this is a "last resort" case.

The Federal Government has known for YEARS and YEARS that our ATC system is outdated and the controllers are not trained as proficiently as they should be, not to mention they are OVERWHELMED in many cases.

In this case, the pilot was given OLD wetaher information prior to liftoff which is what he used to make the decision to fly in the 1st place. Error 1 to ATC person. Most likely laziness or complacency took over, it happens! This is GROSS negligence. Not intentional, but, gross negligence.

You had an ATC person that was not trained to guide aircraft into and onto the airfield through an instrument landing approach. HELLO...you are an ATC person and you don't know how to guide an aircraft into the airport when the aircraft can't see. Hmmm...sounds negligent to me. Most probable reason for this is understaffing ATC positions and "rolling the dice" that we won't need a fully trained person at night.

The pilot for Trooper 2 is not required to be certified for instrument landings AND the aircraft he was flying was not equipped with the most recent equipment because the State of Maryland wouldn't buy it. The pilot asked the ATC person for a guided in landing. The ATC person said "I can't do that, I am not qualified."

Now, you have a pilot, flying blind because he was given bad / old weather information, in an aircraft not properly outfitted and an ATC person who can't DO what they are supposed to do, CONTROL air traffic. How the hell can you control air traffic if YOU as the ATC person don't know how to guide an aircraft in.

MAYBE the lawsuit will force the government to fix the ATC issues we have in this country. If people knew the truth about what happens when they fly, most would NOT fly!!!

SAD...SAD...SAD.

The pilot had needles, but sounds like he had no faith in his equipment and tried to fly below the weather, which would have taken him WELL outside of the ILS approach window.

ILS is more than enough to land in the conditions stated IF he had followed the needles. ILS approach also doesn't require a GCA, and good for the controller NOT doing it. His ass would be on the line if he did, and they had crashed anyways, AND I don't know how the tower is equipped. Do they get to see the pilot's needles??
I'll grant you some of the equipment the FAA has is OLD, but it's not usually the control type of equipment, radar, ILS, beacons.


Besides, wasn't he approaching Andrews AFB?? Wouldn't it be USAF radar controllers and beacons, and not FAA?

 

[Baja28]

I HATE lawsuits and think they are a matter of last resort and this is a "last resort" case.

The Federal Government has known for YEARS and YEARS that our ATC system is outdated and the controllers are not trained as proficiently as they should be, not to mention they are OVERWHELMED in many cases.

In this case, the pilot was given OLD wetaher information prior to liftoff which is what he used to make the decision to fly in the 1st place. Error 1 to ATC person. Most likely laziness or complacency took over, it happens! This is GROSS negligence. Not intentional, but, gross negligence.

You had an ATC person that was not trained to guide aircraft into and onto the airfield through an instrument landing approach. HELLO...you are an ATC person and you don't know how to guide an aircraft into the airport when the aircraft can't see. Hmmm...sounds negligent to me. Most probable reason for this is understaffing ATC positions and "rolling the dice" that we won't need a fully trained person at night.

The pilot for Trooper 2 is not required to be certified for instrument landings AND the aircraft he was flying was not equipped with the most recent equipment because the State of Maryland wouldn't buy it. The pilot asked the ATC person for a guided in landing. The ATC person said "I can't do that, I am not qualified."

Now, you have a pilot, flying blind because he was given bad / old weather information, in an aircraft not properly outfitted and an ATC person who can't DO what they are supposed to do, CONTROL air traffic. How the hell can you control air traffic if YOU as the ATC person don't know how to guide an aircraft in.

MAYBE the lawsuit will force the government to fix the ATC issues we have in this country. If people knew the truth about what happens when they fly, most would NOT fly!!!

SAD...SAD...SAD.

You don't know that the ATC was lazy or where/how he got his weather info. The pilot was fully instrument rated.

 

[danceintherain]

There are many other news articles about this issue. The widow's attorney stated this law suit is intended to "hold the people accountable who didn't protect those who protect us." In 2008, atleast 28 people were killed nationwide in Medivac crashes. I don't know the causes of all the crashes. However, in this case I remember reading the NTSB's findings, they cited Air Traffic Controllers Errors & Inattention contributed to this crash. The pilot was enroute to the hospital when he radio'd he was having trouble with his glide scope and requested an emergency landing approach at Andrews. The controller radio'd back telling the pilot she wasnt current or qualified for that. Two ambulances were disbatched at Andrews waiting for the pilot who never showed up. Are you forgetting the controller assumed the pilot landed at Andrews? As two ambulances were disbatched to meet the helo? HELLO, it took 2 HOURS to locate the crashed Helo. Who didnt do their job? Maybe she'll win the lawsuit, maybe she wont. I hope this brings attention to problems that need to be corrected.

 

[BillNSOMD]

Pilot Error and yet he and the State or the Pilots estate are no part of the lawsuit hum I see money hungry grab here. The Dauphin Helos were purchased because they wanted a all weather helo with on board radar and better electronics , the same helo that US Coast Guard uses everyday for that same reason in bad weather with no problems. The story said the pilot desended to quickly , he wasnt looking at his altimeter so he smashed in to a group of trees end of the story , when I first heard the story on the news I thought for sure he hit those power lines but he hit the trees. So blaming the ATC for a pilot not reading his instruments and slamming the helo into the trees because he was to low it just crazy, but you got to blame someone else. Its the same for the drunk girl that caused the truck to crash into the side of the Bay Bridge , they sue the state of Maryland because the truck ran off the bridge into the water and not the person that caused the crash. Now the helo may have had a problem with the altimeter or its on board radar or the pilot I think just decended to fast and crashed. It was what they call a accident.

 

[kom526]

Pilot Error and yet he and the State or the Pilots estate are no part of the lawsuit hum I see money hungry grab here. The Dauphin Helos were purchased because they wanted a all weather helo with on board radar and better electronics , the same helo that US Coast Guard uses everyday for that same reason in bad weather with no problems.

That's the answer I was looking for.

 

[CobbWeb]

I need to call my lawyer

This will be decided in court; but if you were given some outdated misinformation and it resulted in an accident that caused the death of someone wouldn't you want to persue it to prevent the death of others?
Not all lawsuits are frivolous and for profit.

Last year the National Weather Service said it was gonna snow in the evening and it snowed in the morning and I crashed my car because I had outdated info and wasn't prepared to drive in the snow. I would only need about 1 million to ease my pain.

 

[Go G-Men]

This will be decided in court; but if you were given some outdated misinformation and it resulted in an accident that caused the death of someone wouldn't you want to persue it to prevent the death of others?
Not all lawsuits are frivolous and for profit.

Suing for 15 million dollars is not to prevent the death of others. It is a get rich scheme period. If you want to sue to make sure that the weather is updated better you can do that for a lot LESS than 15 million

 

[Go G-Men]

Has it occured to anyone that the widow may have finacial concerns about raising a 2 year old daughter who has lost her father which may or may not have been the victim of someone elses incompetence. A judge will decide, thats what he's getting paid for.

15 MILLION DOLLARS OF CONCERN? PLEASE.... This is gold digging plain and simple.... If she wants to sue to ensure that her daughter and herself are taken care. Sue for 2 million and walk away with 1 million (the scumbag lawyer gets the other half)