Sept. 10--BOSTON MEDFLIGHT EXECUTIVES -- well aware of the multiple mechanical incidents their helicopters have faced in recent years -- are working to replace half of the nonprofit's four-chopper fleet and bring in an independent team to audit its entire operations, a MedFlight founder and board member said after a Herald report yesterday.
"We knew this was an issue we had to face, and now it's on the front burner," said Dr. Alasdair Conn, chief of Emergency Services at Massachusetts General Hospital and a member and former chairman of Boston MedFlight's board of trustees. "We've now had this program for over 25 years. There has been no major crashes, and we intend to keep it that way."
A Herald review of the Bedford-based nonprofit's helicopters found at least seven mechanical issues since July 2010, a list that includes multiple engine failures, reports of smoke and fire in cabins and, last month, a door that fell from a helicopter mid-flight.
Conn, whose wife is MedFlight's current CEO and medical director Suzanne Wedel, said the board has discussed replacing two of its helicopters for two or three years. He said the challenge is finding the money to pay for new helicopters, which can run between $6 million and $8 million each.
Conn said MedFlight also has allocated between $25,000 and $50,000 to hire an independent contractor to review "all aspects" of the company, from maintenance to pilot training.
The FAA said it is aware of the incidents and is investigating. A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, which also has oversight of MedFlight, said the company wasn't required to report the events to the state agency because they weren't classified as accidents in which someone was killed or injured, or in which the helicopter sustained "substantial damage."
Tufts Medical Center, one of the six Boston hospitals that have combined to contribute $38 million to MedFlight over its 27-year existence, said in a statement, "It is vitally important that critically ill and injured patients in our state can rely on safe air and ground transportation to receive trauma care. We know that Boston MedFlight is committed to the safety of its patients, crew and the clinicians who attend to their patients."
Conn said he expects MedFlight officials to narrow its selection of new aircraft in the next 12 months. Wedel said in a statement to the Herald she expects to have the new choppers delivered by 2015. She also said that as helicopters age, finding replacement parts becomes more difficult, but "airworthiness is not compromised."
Wedel said MedFlight "voluntarily" contracts outside agencies each year to conduct safety and compliance reviews, and expects this year's audit to start in the next quarter.
Copyright 2012 - Boston Herald
