From The Associated Press
WASHINGTON —
An accident this week in Arkansas boosts to 21 the number of people killed so far this year in medical helicopter and plane crashes, renewing concerns about the safety of such operations.
National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt says that he finds the situation “very alarming.”
An Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter crashed Tuesday near Scotland, Ark., killing the pilot, a nurse and a paramedic. It was the fourth fatal accident this summer.
The number of deaths represents a sharp spike from last year, when only six people were killed in one plane and nine helicopter accidents.
