September 09, 2009|By Laura Smitherman | Laura Smitherman,laura.smitherman@baltsun.com
Maryland's medevac officials told state lawmakers Tuesday that they have addressed problems raised by a sharply critical audit and also upgraded equipment and procedures to improve safety after last year's fatal crash.
The briefing came weeks before the anniversary of a Sept. 27 crash in Prince George's County that killed four people - the deadliest accident since Maryland State Police began flying the missions four decades ago. Maj. A. J. McAndrew said the aviation command is in the process of adopting all of the auditor recommendations.
"We've done a tremendous amount of work, and I think it's paying dividends now," McAndrew said, adding that the crash strengthened their resolve to improve the highly regarded operation. "We were good before; we're even better now."
The legislative audit found maintenance and record-keeping problems with the aging fleet. McAndrew told the General Assembly's Joint Audit Committee that the command has improved maintenance recordkeeping and addressed personnel issues. To reduce staff turnover and vacancies, for instance, pilots and technicians got a salary increase, and flight crews received enhanced death benefits.
McAndrew said the command has improved safety features on its 11-helicopter fleet with terrain awareness systems that also provide real-time weather updates, floatable rescue baskets that can be used on missions over water and electronic locater transmitters that emit a signal after a crash. The transmitter on board the helicopter that crashed last year didn't work, delaying the response to the site.
In addition, state officials have set aside more than $50 million to buy new helicopters. And House Speaker Michael E. Busch said a legislative work group would continue its oversight of the emergency medical services operation. "We want to ensure the EMS system remains the best in the world," he said.
