Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) Operations
Public Hearing
February 3-6, 2009
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a 4-day public hearing on the safety of helicopter emergency medical services (EMS) operations beginning on Tuesday, February 3, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. The hearing will be open to the public and will take place in the Board Room and Conference Center at 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. This hearing will also be telecast on the Board’s website (www.ntsb.gov). In addition, the Board is requesting submissions from the EMS community of materials related to aviation safety to be part of a public docket used in support of the hearing.
The goal of the upcoming hearing is for the Safety Board to learn more about helicopter EMS operations so that it can better evaluate the factors that lead to accidents. The Board will invite expert witnesses to provide sworn testimony. The majority of these witnesses will participate as part of small panels addressing particular safety issues. Additionally, several organizations will be granted “party status” to the hearing so that they may question the witnesses directly. The witnesses and parties will represent a range of EMS-related communities, including pilots, medical personnel, managers, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials who provide oversight.
Read the complete announcement here!
NTSB General Information:
Press Releases and Advisories
NTSB Investigative Process
Hearing Information:
February 3-6, 2009
- Agenda
- Biographies for the Board of Inquiry and the Technical Panel
- Witnesses’ Biographies
Transcripts
-
- Day 1 – PDF, 347 KB
- Day 2 – PDF, 412 KB
- Day 3 – PDF, 422 KB
- Day 4 – PDF, 260 KB
Webcast Archive
- Day 1, Tuesday, February 3, 2009
- Real Video
Windows Media
- Real Video
- Day 2, Wednesday, February 4, 2009
- Real Video
- Windows Media
- Day 3, Thursday, February 5, 2009
- Real Video
- Windows Media
- Day 4, Friday, February 6, 2009
- Real Video
- Windows Media
Investigation Information:
- Exhibit Items Presented at the Public
- Hearing and the Entire Public Docket
Additional Information:
- EMS Links
- EMS Announcement
- Remarks of the Honorable Robert L. Sumwalt,
- Board Member, to the Association of Air Medical
- Services Spring Conference, March 11, 2009, Washington, DC
Past Press Releases:
- February 2, 2009
- November 10, 2008
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