CareFlight - North Mississippi Medical Center - Non-injury incident

Date: 06/21/2008 0540 

Program: CareFlight - North Mississippi Medical Center
	830 S Gloster
	Tupleo, MS 38801

Type: AS350, B-2
Tail #: N900NM
Operator/Vendor: Air Methods

Weather: Clear. Not a factor

Team: Pilot, Flight Nurse, Flight Paramedic. No injuries reported. No patient. 

Description: 
	On the morning of Saturday, June 21st, CareFlight was requested to
	rendezvous with a ground ambulance at a pre-designated LZ for a
	patient transport. Weather was clear and not a factor. It was early
	morning, but the sun had not fully risen. Walk around was performed by
	crew. The Pilot and Flight Nurse boarded the aircraft with doors
	secured. The Flight Paramedic remained outside the aircraft to remove
	the APU after startup. Once receiving the OK to disconnect from the
	Pilot, the Paramedic removed the APU and moved the cart off of the
	helipad, returned to the aircraft and secured himself and the door.
	After takeoff, ground personnel noticed a 4? extension cord hanging
	from the aircraft, notified the communications center, which notified
	the Pilot. 
	
	The aircraft immediately returned to the helipad. The aircraft had
	not traveled more that ½ mile and had not reached cruise speed. After
	inspection, the shoreline extension cord (which was black in color)
	had not been removed. The aircraft had no visible damage. The mechanic
	was notified, inspected the aircraft and returned the aircraft to
	service.
	

Additional Info: 
	Post incident action included additional training as well as the
	addition of a warning flag to both the extension cord and APU. The
	extension cord and APU cord were also zip tied together.

Source: Josh Wenzel, Pre-Hospital Director

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contact the CONCERN Coordinator, David Kearns at 800 525 3712 or email:
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