flight-lp

Dust, see this is the part you don't understand.................. When I am out of the wire and single handedly fighting off insurgents with my lanyard and blinding them with my reflective belt, I have to have my 5.11's to look cool! Seriously though, the slant pockets really don't bother me, I have a flat a$$ anyways. I like them, especially the TacLite Pro's, because they keep me cool, they fit well, and are water and stain resistant. I don't need the deep pockets as I do not need to put anything other than a camera in them. Trauma shears are in the truck, on my vest, and attached to my jump bag. I don't carry a cellphone, my therapist doesn't allow me to carry a knife, and half the time I forget my radio. Not to mention they are a 100% tax write off! But admit it, I do look pretty fly in 'em!

Wow, I've never heard "cheap" as a description for 5.11 before. :shock: They must be doing something right as they are quite popular, especially in this neck of the woods (or desert I suppose)......................................

Why were you in the Army prison system??????? :shock: What'd you do??????? :shock:

www.aso.com www.controller.com www.ebay.com What are the times on the aircraft? Is the Commander an "A" or "B" model?

Ditto........ e-mail me the address, I'm sure we have some clothes in the donation pile at home.

+1.............I'd recommend the Converse also. The composite toe will work just as well as steel toe, without the heat that steel retains. Not to mention the tennis shoe comfort. Having worn just about every brand of boots out there, these would top my list.

1. Oil industry at the time went south. Rigs were coming in and not going back out. 2. Add to that 2 major hurricanes, plus 2 deaths in the family, and thats all my wife could take at the time. 3. I found a better offer closer to home. That was also in 1998............ 8) When I am done with my current gig, I may consider going back to them............Who knows................

Not too many offer a sign on bonus that large. A 2 year commitment for $10-20k is pretty fair in my book. Career minded individuals would look beyond the short 24 month period and see the benefits from long term employment with them, such as insurance, retirement, and working for one of the most stable EMS agencies in the country. I too have worked for them, really had no complaints. Yea, their ground pay was low, but the experience is what you make of it................................

Dust - Allow me please, I speak this dialect of Texlish...................... txffemtp......... Yea, it is really needed...................... This isn't what takes the profession down. What brings us down is the incompetence of Medics who have no clue as to what they are doing. Even in the cited example, the contraindications to Anectine were screaming out in the patient's history. As these occurances are not a rarity, yes closer scrutiny needs to be in place before giving a medic drugs that can effectively end human life. You are dead wrong in your statement that "no MD is going to give there medics the ability to use other drugs except sux". I don't know where you got your research on that one. Many services carry both a depolarizing and non-depolorizing NMBA, along with a variety of analgesics and sedatives. In the case where Anectine is all that you have and you know that is is contraindicated you still have several options. You can perform a blind nasotracheal intubation or you can simply bag them. As long as they are ventilating well, a BVM properly used will suffice. It may not be the most optimal situation, but its a lot better than hyperkalemia! Not to mention it allows you to deliver your pt. well oxygenated and ventilated properly which in my experience is usually a great thing! If you don't grasp this concept or "get it", then your paralytics probably should be taken away. Although, I guess what I say is just stupid, huh????

So why aren't these individuals transported by ground instead of helicopter? If they do not meet acceptable criteria to fly to point "A" from point "B", then why would they be acceptable to fly from point "C" to point "B", especially after seeing a physician? The problem here lies in the hands of the hospitals, just because the capability isn't there doesn't mean you stick them on a helo. Or, another option would be to just take them the appropriate trauma center in the first place and completely bypass the worthless hospitals that can't deal with these issues. Common sense should prevail here, it is not rocket science. However, Dust hits the nail on the head concerning the initial ground providers. This is directly the area that needs to be addressed. Between incompetence and plain old laziness, bad decisions are being made at the expense of others' lives. Until we can get these knuckleheads to start using their heads, or get flight crews to start refusing flights, then the toll shall continue.......................

ALS, no doubt about it. Tell the firemonkeys to do their job and stop b!tching about it................

A radar altimeter will not prevent crashes as well as you think. While it will tell you the distance to the ground, it WILL NOT tell you the distance from your helicopter to the top of the tree you are about to hit! Neither will TCAS. Hence why it is important to remember your required altitudes (MOCA / MORA / DH / MAP, etc.) when flying in IMC. Also, most commercial aircraft, including the AS 365, have altimeters. Hell, even the little Robinson R-44's have them as an option. Draw your own conclusion.................................

O.k. again, since a few failed to read the other thread, as previously requested, lets not make unknown guesses at what happened. Especially, if you have no knowledge of aviation or its related subjects. Aircraft do not just "fail", especially a twin engine turbine workhorse such as the AS365. The only known factor in this right now is the substandard weather, so yes that will be closely scrutizined. But the MSP helicopters are well equiped with everything required by Part 135 and then some. It is also rated for flight into IMC conditions. Other than media hype, there has been no indication of a mechanical issue. So again, leave it be and let the NTSB do their own work................ Both quotes identify factors that need to change in this industry. We do need to take a much closer look at who we put on a helicopter because it has been proven that we fly too many patients who do not need it and show no benefit from it. All crew members, not just the pilot, make the call to fly or not fly. Its called crew resource management and it too is an aspect that is still not utilized enough and has yet to be considered in ground EMS. This tool alone can really cut down on accidents in general, not just in aviation. Something to consider.............

It is extremely disheartening to see the number of fatal accidents that have occured in recent years. I believe it to be a three-fold issue that needs to be addressed. Some aspects have been addressed but the response and any discernable change is slow in coming. As I am too tired to repost my entire thought, I'll cut and paste it from another site................... Your a day late and a dollar short on that comment, the industry is already under massive scrutiny. We can armchair this one all we want, but right now we only know one thing; that there was uncontrolled flight into terrain. Without being too speculative, one aspect that will be evaluated is the current weather at the time of the crash. It was marginal VFR if not IFR. I would not be too surprised if the final report lists "inadvertant entry into IMC" as a factor. The AS365 is an awesome EMS platform with more than adequate power and payload capabilities, including single engine lift capability. As there was no distress call made in reference to mechanics, maintenence may not even be an issue. The unfortunate truth to the industry is threefold. 1. There is too much uneeded utilization of helicopters. Interfacility transfers that can go by ground and many MVA / trauma's that also can go by ground ALS. All too aften, I would land on a scene and be told by the medic that the reason they were flying was due to "significant mechanism". MOI is NOT criteria to fly someone, individual assessment of each pt. is. Also the excuse of "well XX hospital will wind up transfering them anyways" is not acceptable. Drive your lazy butts where the pt. needs to go or wait until the transfer is ordered and then take them. Adhering to acceptable usage of the helicopter would dramatically reduce the overall possibility and chance of even being in the air in the first place. Unfortunately, many services do not allow the flight crew to refuse transport on a pt. based on medical neccessity. That has got to change! However, that will never happen because of #2................ 2. Most air services are private and rely on flight revenue or memberships to fund the operation. This equates to the attitude of "call us for anything and we'll fly them". After all, it increases the liklihood of revenue. Yes it does also equate to an increase in operating cost, but many of these private services have multiple bases. Balancing a budget from within can really go far to keep a company operating. Plus, there is also the medical staff who enjoy their livelyhood. They want to stay in their cush and highly desirable job. To so so, they need to maintain their numbers and some will not hesitate to put aside true medical need just keep everything in the black. (flight crews, you can argue this one until you are blue in the face, but we all know that it is true with some crew members). 3. There is and always will be crews out there with hazardous thought processes who see the patients needs coming before their own. The thought is that if the crew can't rescue the pt. then the pt. will not survive or have a less than positive outcome. As such, the crew tries to push on. They do so into bad weather or with known "minor" maintenence issues. Bad decision making and human error is the leading cause of all aviation accidents. It accounts for over 95% of the fatalities that the air medical industry has. One detail that I know worked for me when I was flying was not knowing a thing about my patient. When the phone call came in, we would be given the type of call. The pilot was not given the information, he was only asked if he could fly safely from point A to point B. Enroute, all I would request is a pt. weight, gender, and age. The rest I would find out when I got there (just like ground 911). By doing this, the emotional factor was completely removed by all members of the crew. The other problem with the attitude portion is the background of the pilots. Many are veterans of the Vietnam war. They come from a whole different world of flying and those traits are visible to this day. Old habits die hard.......... Until these items are addressed, along with better equipment, higher training standards, and some better regulation of the industry by the feds, we'll keep on running them into the ground. Its sad, we are losing too many good people...................... __________________ Remember, you are unique! Just like everyone else..................

God be with them and their families......................... *sigh*, this is happening too often..................

Blood.................. Arm, chest, facial, pubic hair. Whatever works................. In all seriousness though, blood is sufficent and is easily obtained. If the candidate doesn't like it, they aren't offered a job. Simple as that, no civil rights are violated...............

http://winterharbor.net/offshore http://www.globalmedicine.net Two good places to get you started! 8)

None, they are all in our response bag . We can't keep the drugs in the unit. We carry the usual stuff, nothing fancy for the ambulance.

There are still about 20 Medics out in Anbar. No talk lately of it changing either. Granted the locals are slowly taking over the province, but I have a feeling we will be the last out of there. Word on the street is that we will still be out there for "IV" when it starts. But whats the companies motto: subject to immediate change! Other areas are actually growing. Several new sites have popped up or expanded. I know my area is short 5 medics. But no b!tch!ng here, thats more money going in my pocket.......................................

They do the standard occ. med stuff like we do here, but they do work with military infectious disease for communicable disease reduction and control. I'm not sure about vector and water purification though. You have sparked my curiousity. I'll find out for you. BTW - I know of a certain location out west that still has an open position........... 8) Not to mention a few where I am at! C'mon back!

ASA does do preventative medicine, it is actually the majority of their work. EMS is only a small role for them. Decent company, have worked with a few of them in the past....................

Thanks for making me spew water out of my nose!

"According to one of my contacts (I conduct aviation safety research as my primary occupation nowadays), the engine experienced some sort of "catastrophic failure". Whether it was an explosion is not clear, but given the similarity between this and the last crash that AirEvac had (December 30, 2007 down in Alabama), I think it says something about the maintenance department of this company. They are at the top (or pretty damn close to it) of most safety advocates' list of operations that need to be overhauled or shut down entirely." Did these words not come from your keyboard? Maybe I am perceiving this incorrectly, but it seems to be a direct assetation. My position is not threatened. You actually show your ignorance further by attepting to guess my position. I do not work as a flight medic. I haven't since 2006. I do not even work EMS in the U.S. anymore. Get with the times. Since you feel the need to emphasize your superior knowledge of the aviation industry, let me throw a few things out there for you. #1 - I too am a pilot. Have been since 1993. I hold a commercial airplane catagory license, both single and multi engine instrument, along being a CFI. I've also had 30 hours in a helicopter for my add-on catagory rating (which by the way, it is not an endorsement. An endorsement is authorized under part 61 to be given by your CFI, you have to ride with the FAA for an additional catagory rating, but then again, I am sure you already know that.......) When I return to the states, I will complete my commercial helicopter rating along with the appropriate instructor ratings. #2 - I am type rated on the Cessna 500 series and I too have flown many air medical missions, both fixed and rotor wing. The difference being, I have sat in the front seat as PIC. #3 - I think the above two, along with 10 years of air medical experience as a flight medic, fixed and rotor, civilian and military; does allow me to speak with a confidence in my knowledge of the industry. You should know that one of the first steps in appropriately researching any subject is to define facts without bias. You failed to do so with your "my friend told me" statement. Yes there is a lot of issues in the industry, yes there are human failures occuring, yes there are some mechanical failures occuring. But, most of these accidents can be attributed to a human caused error in judgement. Very few are truly mechanical in nature. AEL takes a lot of heat and yes, some of it is deserved. But I will give them one thing, their mechanics do put their heart and soul into their work. Despite having ragged out underpowered machines, they do what they can. If the final NTSB report shows them at fault, well then they can pay up. Short of that, stop with the ASSumptions and the poor attempts to trump others. You may find that your 4 of a kind just got knocked down by a royal flush...............................Be safe!

That they were, that they were. Not at all directed towards you Fire-911........ 8)

Going against the grain of the common saying, you DO need to quit your day job. Advocation for a safer air medical environment is one thing, but stating an occupation when you clearly show how clueless to research you are is another. The preliminary has not even been released yet, how on earth can you make any assertation to cause. I would also like to know how you have any correlary evidence showing similarity between the two other than the letters on the side of the aircraft. My thought is you are some bandwagon medic who reads a lot. Outside of that, you know jack.................................. BTW bright eyes, the 206 that crashed new years eve has hovering and more than likely suffered a compressor stall and subsequent power loss. As the aircraft was not moving, it was not able to develop lift when the transmission failed. No lift (horizontal or vertical) = no autorotation = accelerated uncontrollable descent into terrain. This one was in level flight, compressor stall not likely. Yes, the Bell 206 is not an optimal airframe for EMS. Yes in a perfect world, every air medical agency would have all of the bells and whistles available to ensure safety. But its not a perfect world and its a capitalistic money driven industry. That is where the focus of change should be. They died coming back from a PR, they weren't even loaded. That is what is sad about this tragic event. BTW your "ride the paramedic" slogan just screams professional aviation researcher..............................