Comparison of Air Ambulance Crash Rates – USA versus EU

USA versus EU Air Ambulance Crash Rates
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The medical departments in the entire world use air ambulance to increase service delivery. Paramedics prefer air ambulances in cases of emergency and instances of traffic congestions on the ground. Furthermore, helicopters can easily access internal environment like mountain tops. However, there are cases where the rescue missions by air ambulances have turned disastrous. In the United States and the European Union countries, accidents involving air ambulances have been reported for a long time. Most of these accidents result in serious injuries and deaths of patients, pilots, and paramedics on board. This paper presents the comparison between aeromedical accidents in the United States and the European Union countries.
USA
NTSB data pertaining aeromedical helicopters shows that there have been 84 medical helicopters involving 260 people. The accidents include patients, passenger, pilots and paramedic team. In a ten year statistics aeromedical incidences, USA reported 72 fatalities and 64 injuries. In this study, USA records 0.86 deaths in every recorded accident (Bledsoe & Smith, 2004). A nonfatal injury in every accident was 0.76. The accidents rate involving aeromedical helicopters were on the increasing rates as in the last period of the ten-year study. Data according to Bledsoe and Smith (2004), 52% of the reported accidents occurred between 2000 and 2002.

Most of these accidents cases attribute to pilot error. Statistically, 70% of these accidents were caused by piloting problems.
European Union
A study of aeromedical crashes in the European Unions revealed that 24 aircraft were involved in the accidents in Germany alone. Statistically, most of the accidents occurred during the day. Out of the twenty-four cases, only two took place during the night (Hinkelbein & Dambier, 2008). From the statistics presented by Hinkelbein and Dambier, the fatal cases were three. There were two reported non-fatal injuries. From the crash statistics, seven people died in the accidents while four sustained serious injuries (Hinkelbein & Schwalbe, 2013). Most of the air crashes in the European Union countries, specifically in Germany took place in while helicopters were approaching and while landing (Hinkelbein & Dambier, 2008). According to (Hinkelbein & Dambier, 2008), 54% of the accidents were reported at landing and approach, 17% took place on the ground run while 29% of the crash took place in the takeoff faces and cruise flight phases.
Similarities between USA and EU accident statistics
In both instances, accidents involving aeromedical in USA and EU the incidence happened during rescue missions (Sherlock, 2015). All the reports reveal that accident scenes caused panic and increased instances and cases of accidents. Both scenarios caused confusion since the accidents mostly followed another accident that called for the rescue.
The increasing cases embarrassing as many critics suggests that helicopters are no longer required for safety before the reported accidents. American citizens and those belonging to the European Union question the safety of air ambulance.
The rates of fatalities are very high in the two presented regions. America records an average of 86% casualties on every accident. The percentage shows that the probabilities of injuries involving any helicopter accidents are very high.

Differences
Studies show that crash rates are higher in the USA than in Germany. For instance, in comparison of the accident rates out of 10,000 missions, Germany ranks at 0.4 while the US rates 16.
Unlike the cases presented in the US, patients in EU aeromedical crashes were not part fatalities statics (Hinkelbein & Dambier, 2008). Medical helicopters accidents occurred in Europe however deaths involving patients were not reported. However, The American cases involved accidents of patients.
While using flying hours as a denominator of comparison, the flying hours ranges between 1.7 and 13.4. However, crash rates fatalities using the same denominator is 0.91 in EU and 4.7 in the USA.
The reports on aeromedical accidents are worrying because the aircraft are supposed to be the rescue of accidents and not part of the accidents reports. The medical departments still need the help of aircraft in medical relief as it saves on time and traffic. Further studies are required to investigate the causes of aeromedical accidents on the rescue missions to deter future occurrences of the same scenarios.
References
Bledsoe, B. & Smith, M. (2004). Medical Helicopter Accidents in the U.S.: A 10-Year Review. The Journals of Trauma: Injuries, Infections, and Critical Care, 56(6), 1325-1329.
Grissom, C., Thomas, F., & James, B. (2006). Medical helicopters in wilderness’s searches and rescue operation. Air Medical Journal, 25(1), 18-25.
Hinkelbein, J. & Dambier, M. (2008). 6-Year Analysis of Emergency Service Helicopter Crashe. Research Gates. Retrieved 29 November 2016, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5662885_A_6-Year_Analysis_of_German_Emergency_Medical_Services_Helicopter_Crashes
Hinkelbein, J. & Schwalbe, M. (2013). The influence of helicopter models on outcome after Helicopter’s Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) mission’s accidents. Resuscitation, 84, S96.
Sherlock, R. (2015). AAMS response to Habib et al, Probable cause in helicopter emergency medical services crashes. Journals of Trauma and Acute Surgeries, 78(5), 1066.
Worley, G. (2015). Civilians Helicopter Search and Rescue Accidents in the U.S.: 1980 Through 2013. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 26(4), e1.