Air Methods Corporation (NASDAQ: AIRM) , the largest air medical transportation company in the world, announced today it has filed a petition with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) requesting the Board reconsider/modify its probable cause determination related to the June 29, 2008 mid-air collision accident in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The NTSB Probable Cause Report states that "both pilots failed to see and avoid the other helicopter on approach to the helipad".
Specifically, Air Methods' petition seeks the following of the NTSB [Board]:
1. Reconsideration and deletion of the Board's finding that a contributing cause in the accident was "the failure of Air Methods' pilot to follow arrival and noise abatement guidelines;"
2. The addition, as a contributing cause, the presence of prescription pain-killing medication in the Classic pilot's blood that could influence decisions or performance; and
3. The addition, as a contributing cause, of the failure of the Classic communications center to communicate pertinent information to the Classic aircraft regarding the fact that Air Methods' aircraft was inbound to Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) with the same estimated time of arrival as the Classic aircraft.
Aaron Todd, CEO, stated, "Air Methods has filed a petition with the NTSB requesting that the Board reconsider/modify the probable cause/contributing cause determination of this accident. We are deeply troubled by what we consider to be critical inaccuracies in the NTSB current Probable Cause Report and the inconsistencies between the findings in this case versus previous cases."
