First case of fatal crash confirmed in texting-while-flying case
Skift Take
Distracted flying is a new phenomena, and expect the use of electronic devices in flight cockpits -- allowed to pilots during level cruising phase -- to come under increasing scrutiny after this.
The pilot of an emergency medical helicopter flying over Missouri was sending and receiving text messages before a 2011 crash, the first time such distractions have been implicated in a fatal commercial-aviation accident.
Texting increased the likelihood of attention lapses and errors, Bill Bramble, a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigator, said at a hearing on the accident today. The safety board is meeting to assign a probable cause for the accident that killed four people, including a patient.
The NTSB documented 20 texts sent and received by the pilot before and during the flight, according to agency records.
The Air Methods Corp. helicopter crashed in a field after running out of fuel, according to preliminary NTSB reports. Use of electronic devices by pilots during flight was prohibited by company rules, according to the reports.
“This is a classic example of dividing attention in a way that compromises safety,” said David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City who has studied how personal electronic devices cause distraction.
This is the first time the NTSB has uncovered evidence of texting or mobile-phone use during a flight involved in a fatal accident, Kelly N
