Travis County STARFlight wins 2010 Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award

Travis County STARFlight wins 2010 Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award

13-Oct-2010 Source: American Eurocopter

Grand Prairie, TX – American Eurocopter is proud to announce that Travis County’s STARFlight program has been selected to receive the fourth annual Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award. STARFlight was chosen for its investment and proactive accomplishments in training and safety initiatives throughout the organization. As part of the award, American Eurocopter presented the program with a check for $10,000 to continue its efforts.

Marc Paganini, President and CEO of American Eurocopter, presented the award and the check to the STARFlight members, during the AMTC Community Awards Banquet. “STARFlight has taken the initiative to incorporate safety as a base part of the culture of its program. The focus on safety and training throughout the organization is impressive and has set a new standard in the industry,” explained Paganini.

STARFlight (Shock Trauma Air Rescue) began operation in 1985 to provide Advanced Life Support response and transport to the citizens in the outlying areas of Travis County. Soon after the program’s inception the operation expanded into the more regional basis it is today. In 1993 STARFlight enhanced its operations to include helicopter rescue, land/water rescue, wilderness/SAR (search and rescue), and fire suppression. Scene flights and hospital-to-hospital transfers comprise over ninety percent of STARFlight responses.

The program has stated that it has one major goal: SAFETY. It has endeavored to be the leader in innovation including safety, operational, aircraft systems, maintenance and personal equipment perspectives.

At the very center of this effort, the program leadership elected to equip its fleet with the most advanced helicopters featuring full Single Pilot IFR capability including dual three axis autopilots and dual Garmin 430/530 Garmin GPS units. This combination of advanced helicopter and technology helps enable pilots to spend the maximum time and attention to safely fly the aircraft after entering inadvertent instrument conditions. STARFlight feels that this should be one of the main emphases in raising the bar for safe day and night all-weather operations.
The American Eurocopter Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award was started in 2007 to promote aviation safety within the air medical community. A Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by industry consultant Bill Bryant, reviewed the nominations and selected the winner. “STARFlight’s attention to safety and its focus on training was very impressive,” said Bryant. “This was not just in one area of the program, but across the entire organization. As a public safety organization, STARFlight was not obligated to become certified by the FAA as a part 135 Air Carrier, become CAMTS accredited, or to adopt all of the safety recommendations made by the NTSB, yet they did all of these in the interest of safety. STARFlight sets a tremendous example for other programs and organizations to emulate, both public and private.”
Some of STARFlight’s initiatives include:

* Equipping its aircraft with Helicopter Terrain Avoidance and Warning Systems (HTAWS); color weather RADAR, storm scope and moving maps which show all man-made obstacles; and Terminal Information Systems (TIS) to reduce the potential of mid-air collisions in high density terminal areas.
* Treating medical crew members as part of the flight crew to include: drug and alcohol testing, 12 hour duty schedule, and 10 hour rest period requirement prior to duty assignment.
* Mandating quarterly IMC recovery training for all pilots/crewsHeliport Safety Sign Campaign
* Assignment of all crew members to specific flight teams to promote team cohesiveness.
* Providing all crew members with NVGs for every night operation and requiring currency for all crew members, regardless of position.
* Providing water survival training for all crew members to include egrees, HEEDS, and use of personal flotation. All crew members wear flight vests (at all times) with incorporated inflatable collars in case of water ditching.
* Requiring all crew members to complete Dr. Mark Rosekind’s “Z-Coach” web-based program for sleep deprivation and fatigue management. Dr. Rosekind is recognized as one of the world’s leading expert in this field and while this training is not an industry or FAA requirement, it has been recommended by the NTSB for several years.
* Conducting on-going AMRM/CRM training with all crew members to include the following missions: EMS (scene and interfacility), 24 hour all-weather Search and Rescue (SAR) (land / water), Firefighting and Law Enforcement. This training extends to the entire team to include Hospital Specialty Team members and Aviation Communication Specialists.
* Utilizing an automated Risk Matrix program for both Part 135 and Public Operations missions which automatically links the current risk analysis to the dispatch and stores it in the data base for future reference or reconstruction.
* Implementing all of the NTSB recommendations for HEMS safety and accident reduction to include: scenario-based training, simulator training, video/voice/flight data recording, night vision imaging systems, Single Pilot IFR equipped aircraft (EC-145) with 3-axis-dual-redundant autopilot systems, ongoing instrument training for all pilots, implementation of a Safety Management System (SMS) with a goal to achieve level 4 status by 2014.

While STARFlight was chosen as the 2010 Vision Zero Award winner, Carilion Clinic Life-Guard program and Wisconsin’s Flight for Life program were honorably mentioned because of each program’s commitment to safety and contributions to the industry.

The Blue Ribbon Committee is made up of members with extensive backgrounds in the air medical industry. The 2010 Blue Ribbon Committee members are:
* Bill Bryant MPA/HAS: President and Principle of Sierra Health Group
* Denise Landis, RN, EMT-P, MSA, CMTE: Program Director for University of Michigan Survival Flight
* Eileen Frazer, RN, CMTE: Executive Director of CAMTS
* Ed MacDonald: Chairman of AMSAC
* Clark Kurschner: Director of Operations, Omniflight Helicopters, Inc
* Gerry Pagano: Director of Operations, Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s Trauma Hawk Aeromedical Program
* Jason Schwebach MBA, MHA, CMTE: Assistant Vice President at Carolinas Healthcare System and MedCenter Air Administrative Director
* Joe Syslo: Senior Manager, Aviation Safety for American Eurocopter

For more information about the Vision Zero program and the American Eurocopter Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award, please visit Association of Air Medical Services website www.aams.org.

About American Eurocopter
American Eurocopter is a helicopter manufacturer that produces, markets, sells and supports the broadest range of civil and para-public helicopters offered by any manufacturer in the United States. The company is a subsidiary of EADS North America Holdings, the North American operations of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services, and is an affiliate of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world. American Eurocopter’s product line represents the most cost-effective, technologically-advanced helicopters, ranging from light single to heavy twin, serving all markets and missions. Company headquarters and main facilities are located in Grand Prairie, TX, with a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, MS, that produces the UH-72A for the U.S. Army’s Light Utility Helicopter program.

, , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright © 2024 HeliHub

Website by Design Inc

Helihub logo

X