fatal text message, A simple text message can even affect not only drivers on the road, but pilots in the air as well, According to Wired reports on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, for the very first time the National Transportation Board has said that texting was an influence in a deadly helicopter crash.
The Board recently cited a fatal text message as a potential cause of a medical helicopter that crashed back in 2011 after the pilot had been texting with his friends during the flight, only a few minutes before the crash took place.
While the new report noted that quite a few factors may have led to the unfortunate aviation accident, Chairman Debbie Hersman alleged that the text messages pilot James Freudenbert was sending served as very real distractions that led to the deaths of four people in the crash.
On top of the fatal text messages, the National Transportation Board also acknowledged this week that the 2011 crash was also a result of an exhausted pilot who had failed to make proper safety checks, including a lack of fuel.
“The nation’s helicopter emergency medical services perform important work transporting hundreds of patients and organs every day. We all share the same goal: to ensure that lives are saved — not lost — in these vital lifesaving operations,” Hersman said. “But, this investigation highlighted what is a growing concern across transportation — distraction and the myth of multi-tasking. When you are operating heavy machinery, whether it’s a personal vehicle or an EMS helicopter, you need to be focused on the task at hand: transportation, safe transportation.”
A nurse, patient, paramedic, and the pilot were all killed in the tragic crash. The Board hopes that this fatal text message will serve as a reminder to drivers on land, in the sky, and on sea to not mix texting while operating machinery, both for the safety of themselves and others.
The Board recently cited a fatal text message as a potential cause of a medical helicopter that crashed back in 2011 after the pilot had been texting with his friends during the flight, only a few minutes before the crash took place.
While the new report noted that quite a few factors may have led to the unfortunate aviation accident, Chairman Debbie Hersman alleged that the text messages pilot James Freudenbert was sending served as very real distractions that led to the deaths of four people in the crash.
On top of the fatal text messages, the National Transportation Board also acknowledged this week that the 2011 crash was also a result of an exhausted pilot who had failed to make proper safety checks, including a lack of fuel.
“The nation’s helicopter emergency medical services perform important work transporting hundreds of patients and organs every day. We all share the same goal: to ensure that lives are saved — not lost — in these vital lifesaving operations,” Hersman said. “But, this investigation highlighted what is a growing concern across transportation — distraction and the myth of multi-tasking. When you are operating heavy machinery, whether it’s a personal vehicle or an EMS helicopter, you need to be focused on the task at hand: transportation, safe transportation.”
A nurse, patient, paramedic, and the pilot were all killed in the tragic crash. The Board hopes that this fatal text message will serve as a reminder to drivers on land, in the sky, and on sea to not mix texting while operating machinery, both for the safety of themselves and others.