No. Pilots are charged with the safe and efficient transport of the crew and patient without regard to what is happening " in the back". By isolating pilots from patient involvement, they can make crucial flight decisions without influence.
Helicopters do respond to accident scene when the pre-hospital personnel’s evaluation of the patient/scene meets local air medical transport guidelines.
Patients are flown by fixed wing for many different reasons. The fixed wing environment differs from the rotor wing environment primarily in that fixed wing travels farther, faster and higher.
Fixed Wing aircraft were the first aircraft used in medEvac transport. A medical section of the Army Air Corps was created as early as June 1, 1925 using converted DeHaviland aircraft. Helicopters did not see use as medical transports until 1944.
The weather minimums for safe flight operations are found within the Federal Aviation Regulations. AAMS recommends that medEvac services, regardless of AAMS membership, follow the CAMTS recommended standards of operation.
"IFR" stands for "Instrument Flight Rules." It refers to a set of rules governing the conduct of flight under weather conditions where navigation by Visual Flight Rules (VFR) is no longer reliable.
The debate among users continues with this issue. Some pilots and passengers have always believed two is better than one. On certain levels this is still true today. Anyone flying 100 miles offshore, or over mountainous terrain at night feels better knowing that there are two engines working for him or her.
