The National Transportation Safety Board has released its 2014 Most Wanted List, the top 10 advocacy and awareness priorities for the year.
Helicopter operations has been added to the 2014 Most Wanted List. Between January 2003 and May 2013, 1,470 helicopter accidents have occurred, with 477 fatalities and 274 serious injuries, NTSB officials noted.
The U.S. civil helicopter industry continues to see overwhelming growth and demand for emergency medical services, law enforcement support, electronic news gathering, offshore oil and gas support, as well as a variety of other applications.
Also on the list specifically targeted to general aviation is “identify and communicate hazardous weather.”
A frequent cause or contributing factor to general aviation accidents is a failure to recognize or take appropriate steps to avoid hazardous weather. The NTSB investigated a total of 1,466 general aviation accidents in 2011, resulting in 444 deaths.
For more information: NTSB.gov
Emergency medical helicopter pilots are put between a rock and a hard place when it comes to bad weather. Fly into it, and possibly have an accident. Don’t fly, and someone who needs medical attention may die. I don’t envy them having to make that call. Hopefully new technology like synthetic vision can help them to better copy with bad weather.