Lawsuit Filed Over Fatal Medical Helicopter Accident Filed in Indiana

The family of a flight nurse has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in connection with a medical helicopter crash that occurred after a charity event on August 31, 2008 in Burney, Indiana.

Sandra Pearson, 38, died after the rotors on a Bell 206 helicopter failed, causing the helicopter crash. Investigators say the rotors may have struck unmarked power transmission lines, or they may have failed on their own.

The helicopter was an air ambulance for Air Evac Lifeteam, operating out of Rush Memorial Hospital. At the time of the accident, the helicopter was leaving a community event at the Burney Fire Department.

The fatal accident lawsuit was filed on behalf of Pearson’s two children, aged 8 and 10, in Marion County Superior Court in Indiana on May 18. Defendants named in the suit include Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer, Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., the rotor manufacturer, Rush Memorial Hospital and Decatur County REMC, which owned the power lines.

The complaint contains multiple allegations of negligence that contributed to the crash, including indication that Bell manufactured defective rotors, that the hospital provided the helicopter with an unsafe flight path and did not conduct proper maintenance and that Rolls-Royce failed to warn operators of the helicopter that a noise that could be misconstrued as engine-related was actually a sign of a fatigue fracture in the main rotor.

According an interim helicopter crash report by the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB), witnesses saw parts of the rotor separate from the helicopter shortly after it left the fire department, sending the helicopter crashing to the ground. The blades were discovered, broken, on the ground about 200 yards from the wreckage. It is unclear whether the rotors struck nearby transmission lines which were unmarked, or whether the rotors failed with no outside interference.

The NTSB noted that the helicopter was inspected 10 days before the fatal accident, and that a low rumble and vibration from the rear of the vehicle was detected that day.

Safety issues with air rescue vehicles have become an increasing concern after a rash of medical helicopter accidents left 20 dead last year, giving 2008 the worst annual record for EMS-related helicopter crashes.

In addition to Pearson, the Indiana crash also killed the helicopter pilot and another paramedic.

In September 2008, a Price George’s County, Maryland helicopter crash killed four people and critically injured another, and a June 2008 medical helicopter accident in Huntsville, Texas, killed another four.

A variety of causes have contributed to the helicopter crashes; including insufficient crew, unsafe operations and a lack of proper safety equipment, leading to calls for the FAA to more stringently enact and enforce safety measures for air rescue operations nationwide.