The National EMS Pilots Association has submitted a 22-page position paper on the FAA Notice of Proposed Rule Making pertaining to helicopter air ambulance operations. January 10 was the deadline for the public submission of comments on the proposed changes to FAR Part 135. The new rules, if implemented as proposed without modification, will be the most far reaching changes to Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations in recent history. The FAA’s proposal includes provisions that apply specifically to helicopter air ambulance operations, as well as rules that will affect all commercial helicopter operations.

NEMSPA’s comments on the proposed rules express support of much of the contents, but take issue with several elements of the proposal that the officers of the EMS pilots’ organization feel will have unintended consequences that could hinder the ability of the air medical transport industry to provide the life-saving services that our national system of healthcare facilities has come to rely upon.

You can review the details of NEMSPA’s submission, along with over 170 others, on the official FAA NPRM website athttp://www.regulations.gov by clicking on the “Read Comments” link and then selecting Public Submission in the Document Type text box and entering FAA-2010-0982 in the Keyword or ID text box. You can also access NEMSPA’s comments on their website atwww.nemspa.org.

About the National EMS Pilots Association

The National EMS Pilots Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional pilot organization dedicated to serving rotary wing and fixed wing pilots involved in the air-medical transport industry. Formed in 1984, NEMSPA enjoys a rich history of innovation and excellence spanning over 25 years and is synonymous with professionalism and safety in air medical transport. NEMSPA works very closely with the FAA, DOT, NTSB, HAI, and with national, State, and local politicians, hospitals, and health care systems, as well as with air medical providers, air medical organizations and many others to promote quality and safety in the industry. Additional information on NEMSPA and its membership benefits can be found at on the website referenced at the end of the previous paragraph.