During the week of October 22, 2018, I was privileged to cover the Air Medical Transportation Conference in Phoenix for Aviation International News. Although I had been told that this conference was more medically focused than aviation focused, I saw enough pilot and helicopter themed sessions that I felt confident that the conference would not be a waste of time. It did not disappoint.
Not only were there interesting sessions ranging from crew experiences with incapacitated pilots in flight, to checklist absurdities in aviation and medicine, but I also was able to reconnect with several people I knew from the helicopter industry. It was definitely a worthwhile venture. I’ll post stories from AIN as they are printed/posted, likely in December or during Heli-Expo 2019.
In the meantime, here are a few photos from the event.
Dave Weber made the case that over dependence on checklists can lead to a reduced ability to reason, especially in emergency situations.Motivational speaker Patrick Snow encouraged the audience to set and work toward goals, insisting that knowing exactly how they would achieve those goals was not necessary to set them, but that the “how” would reveal itself over time.Jenny Thorp of the winning Sim Cup team STARS works on a “patient” during the final round of competition.Paul Spring from Phoenix Heli-Flight presented both safety and financial reasons for installing camera and data recording systems in the cockpit.Recent changes in medical insurance have increased the number of injury codes from about 4,000 to 12,000. Here are a few of the zaniest.
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