The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cited the pilot’s decision to fly into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) as the probable cause of two fatal crashes in late 2009 and early 2010 of emergency medical services (EMS) helicopters.
Each crash killed all three people aboard — the pilot and two aeromedical personnel — and each involved a Eurocopter AS350. The NTSB issued final reports on both accidents in mid-January.
The first of the two crashes occurred at 2331 local time on Sept. 25, 2009, 1.92 nm (3.6 km) southwest of Georgetown County Airport in Georgetown, South Carolina.
The multi-leg operation began about 2023 when the helicopter left Conway–Horry County Airport (HYW) in Conway to pick up a patient from Georgetown Memorial Hospital for transfer to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (MUSC). After the transfer was completed, the helicopter was flown to Charleston Air Force Base/International Airport for refueling. At 2302, the…
