By Ryan Korsgard, KPRC-TV Houston
June 27, 2008

HOUSTON -- A fatal medical helicopter crash has lead to questions about the choppers' safety, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.

What started as a rescue mission turned into a recovery mission. A PHI air medical chopper flew from Huntsville to Houston early June 8. It crashed in the forest near Huntsville, killing patient David Disman, paramedic Stephanie Waters, flight nurse Jana Bishop and pilot Charles Kirby.

Helicopter Association International statistics show an average of more than 5.5 percent of all crashes happened while the helicopters were acting as air ambulances. Of the 1,908 chopper crashes during the last 10 years, 108 crashed during air medical service.

Austin attorney Mike Slack is a former NASA engineer and a licensed airplane pilot. He said his law firm has been involved in about two dozen cases involving air ambulances. He questioned the benefits of flying ambulances, beyond the crash stats.

"The medical studies point to the fact that fewer than 5 percent of actual transports result in an enhancement or improvement in medical outcome," Slack said...

Full story at http://www.click2houston.com/news/16726989/detail.html