EMS Helo Risk Profiling is to be Legislated

Section 508 of the Senate's pending Legislation S. 1300 will mandate compliance with Part 135 regulations whenever medical crew are on board an EMS helicopter, without regard to whether there are also patients on board. The FAA will be required to initiate rulemaking that creates standard checklists for evaluation of Emergency Medical Service risks in accepting missions as well as standardized flight dispatch procedures. Any helicopter used for EMS operations that is ordered, purchased, or otherwise obtained after the date S. 1300 is enacted would also be required to have on board an operational terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) that meets the technical specifications of section 135.154 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 C.F.R. 135.154). Over and beyond these impositions, the FAA would also be required to complete a feasibility study for requiring flight data and cockpit voice recorders on new and existing helicopters used in EMS operations. Subsequent to the feasibility study, the FAA would be required within two years of S. 1300’s enactment to complete a rulemaking requiring flight data and cockpit voice recorders on board such helicopters. Helicopters used on an ad hoc basis for emergency retrieval or rescue would presumably not be affected by the rule.