Some Say Fatal Wis. Med Flight Crash Could`ve Been Prevented

MADISON, Wis. --

The fatal crash of a University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight helicopter last May rocked the medical community and the families of the three victims, but some said they believe the tragedy could have been avoided.

VIDEO: Watch The Report|READ: Management Of Med Flight Program Criticized|VIDEO: Leaders Of Med Flight Program Come Under Fire

A WISC-TV investigation into the Med Flight crash that killed three people found not just sorrow but also anger and frustration because the $4 to $5 million helicopter did not have $100,000 worth of safety equipment.

The widow of one of the victims said she believes the equipment would have prevented the tragedy.

Ten months ago, Dr. Stacey Bean had a picture-perfect life with her husband, critical care Dr. Darren Bean. They had a passionate marriage, two children and dual careers in emergency medicine.

"He was the most important thing in our lives. He was our lives," Bean said. "Darren and I loved medicine and were passionate about medicine." But Bean said her life was shattered overnight by a Med Flight crash that killed her husband and two others.

"The kids have lost their dad. I've lost my soul mate and my best friend. It's a huge hole. It's a huge hole that's every day," Bean said.

Bean said she believes the crash could have been prevented if there had been federally-recommended safety gear for medical helicopters on board the Med Flight.

"I believe that if it had been on the helicopter, this whole tragedy would have been avoided," Bean said.

The Med Flight helicopter crashed on May 10 into a 500-foot bluff outside the La Crosse Airport on a rainy, partly foggy night.

The aircraft, leased from the country's biggest air ambulance company, Air Methods, did not have two pieces of equipment recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board: A Terrain Avoidance Warning System, or "TAWS," which warns pilots of oncoming obstacles, and night vision goggles, or "NVGs," which amplify existing light.

"(With this equipment), the pilots and crew members can see what is not able to be seen with the naked eye," said Mike Allen, vice president of Air Methods.

Bean said had such safety equipment been on the Med Flight, her 37-year-old husband, Mark Coyne, 53, a registered nurse, and pilot Steve Lipperer, 39, would all still be alive.

"If the safety equipment such as the TAWS and the night vision goggles had been on the aircraft, I believe that Darren would still be with me right now," Bean said.

A WISC-TV investigation found that others agree.

"The TAWS would have definitely, in my mind, prevented that crash," said Craig Lunaas, a former Med Flight pilot.

Lunaas spent 13 years at Med Flight as a pilot and instructor and is a past president of the National EMS Pilots Association.

He said that for years now the for-profit air ambulance industry has opposed efforts to mandate TAWS and other safety gear while ignoring voluntary recommendations.

"The problem is that nobody implements the recommendations," Lunaas said. "A lot of their membership doesn't want regulations to have this stuff on board because it costs money."

The result is that there is still no industry standard for safety gear and no Federal Aviation Administration regulation three years after the NTSB urged the FAA to "require EMS operators to install TAWS on their aircraft," saying that "merely encouraging the use of the technology is not sufficient."

A month ago, in the wake of more crash fatalities, the NTSB held a four-day public hearing into EMS chopper safety and TAWS. Again, the FAA made no promises.

"It is important to remember regulations are but one tool we use to advance safety," a representative for the FAA said during the hearing.

Like the FAA, Air Methods said it takes time to install the technology. Air Methods said it's aiming to have TAWS and goggles on all of its aircraft by 2012.

"We've set a very aggressive timeframe and we support the recommendations and have supported them for years," Allen said.

But it's too little, too late for Stacy Bean, who said she can't believe that Med Flight's primary helicopter is still flying without the recommended safety gear.

"And it's nine and a half months later and their main helicopter still doesn't have it. That's unacceptable," Bean said.

Without the gear, Bean said she believes Med Flight is unsafe, and that's one reason she recently quit emergency medicine. The doctor said she can't in good conscience work in an emergency room and call for an air ambulance.

In response, UW Hospitals and Clinics pointed out that federal safety investigators have yet to determine the cause of the crash.

"We disagree with the fundamental assumption that use of TAWS would have necessarily prevented the tragedy," UW Hospitals and Clinics said in a statement. "UW Hospital was well aware of the NTSB recommendations about TAWS in 2006, but until 2008 there were no FAA-established criteria for the TAWS technology in helicopters."

There are now plans to get TAWS and night vision goggles in both Med Flight helicopters in early May, WISC-TV reported.

The hospital said that even without TAWS or night vision goggles, Med Flight flies safely, and even pilot Craig Lunaas agrees.

But Lunaas said he still believes the safety gear should have been on board earlier, and he and other former employees said that shows poor UW Hospital management of Med Flight. (To read more click here)