NTSB: Pilot in deadly crash 'distracted' by texting, Phone records suggest that the pilot involved in an August 2011 medical helicopter crash that killed four people in Mosby, Missouri may have been distracted by texting.
An investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has recovered evidence that the male pilot of the helicopter was sending and receiving texts from an off-duty female coworker whom he planned to have dinner with on the evening of the crash.
The investigation is the first in the U.S.A. to implicate texting while flying in a fatal commercial aviation accident. The pilot, 34-year-old James Freudenbert, sent three and received four text messages during the flight; three of those received were from a coworker regarding that night's dinner plans.
The medical transport chopper belonged to Air Methods Corp., the largest publicly owned emergency medical services helicopter operator in the U.S. and was transferring a patient when it ran out of fuel and crashed about a half hour after lifting off from its base hospital.
Records show that Freudenbert discussed refueling with company dispatchers before taking off but decided to fly the last leg of the trip without refueling, noting he had 45 minutes of fuel remaining. The helicopter crashed 30 minutes after taking off from the hospital, killing all aboard.
Investigators believe Freudenbert knew he had less fuel but had been too distracted to refuel to begin with and did not want others to know he was cutting it close.
Investigators stopped short of determining that the pilot's texting while flying was the direct cause of the helicopter plunging into a field, focusing instead on the multiple distractions after a poor night's sleep, information divulged in one of the text messages. Officials believe the pilot was distracted, including by incoming and outgoing texts, and failed to refuel the helicopter which resulted in a fatal crash.
In another texting case, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported a May 27, 2010 incident on Flight JQ57, from Darwin to Singapore where the pilot of an Airbus A320 had to go around after almost touching down without lowering his landing gear. An automatic warning alerted the pilot who was allegedly tending to his cell phone instead of performing a landing check.
Source Examiner
An investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has recovered evidence that the male pilot of the helicopter was sending and receiving texts from an off-duty female coworker whom he planned to have dinner with on the evening of the crash.
The investigation is the first in the U.S.A. to implicate texting while flying in a fatal commercial aviation accident. The pilot, 34-year-old James Freudenbert, sent three and received four text messages during the flight; three of those received were from a coworker regarding that night's dinner plans.
The medical transport chopper belonged to Air Methods Corp., the largest publicly owned emergency medical services helicopter operator in the U.S. and was transferring a patient when it ran out of fuel and crashed about a half hour after lifting off from its base hospital.
Records show that Freudenbert discussed refueling with company dispatchers before taking off but decided to fly the last leg of the trip without refueling, noting he had 45 minutes of fuel remaining. The helicopter crashed 30 minutes after taking off from the hospital, killing all aboard.
Investigators believe Freudenbert knew he had less fuel but had been too distracted to refuel to begin with and did not want others to know he was cutting it close.
Investigators stopped short of determining that the pilot's texting while flying was the direct cause of the helicopter plunging into a field, focusing instead on the multiple distractions after a poor night's sleep, information divulged in one of the text messages. Officials believe the pilot was distracted, including by incoming and outgoing texts, and failed to refuel the helicopter which resulted in a fatal crash.
In another texting case, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported a May 27, 2010 incident on Flight JQ57, from Darwin to Singapore where the pilot of an Airbus A320 had to go around after almost touching down without lowering his landing gear. An automatic warning alerted the pilot who was allegedly tending to his cell phone instead of performing a landing check.
Source Examiner
