Narrative:

The ramp fuel ready level for this time of year for ready 4 at site 1 is 400 pounds or 1+20 including reserve. Just before XA00 we were toned out for a 2 ship scene. Ready 2 from site 2 was also dispatched at the same time. I launched at xa:03 with approximately 410 pounds of fuel. I estimated our ETA at 30 minutes. Ready 2 launched at the same time with an ETA of 8 minutes. The forecast winds were 18 gusting 30 from the southwest; my heading was about 080 as I recall. The scene was just over 60 miles out and I estimated that fuel was going to be an issue for the second half of the flight. I told my crew that we had a couple of choices; I could divert to site 2 now for more fuel or we could load the patient at the scene and then go to site 2 for fuel. I have just transferred from the east coast. Scene flights there were inside a 20 mile radius of base. This was my 8th scene flight in this base and longer than the 7 others by approximately 30 NM minimum. About 15 minutes into my flight ready 2 was already on the scene and shutdown. The ready 2 pilot radioed me that more aircraft were needed and that there were at least 4 patients that needed to be lifted. I called dispatch and they in turn alerted ready 3 in site 3 and air 2 a fixed wing based in site 4 to reposition to site 2 to accept a transfer. While I was on the radio with dispatch my medical crew had established ground contact and it appeared there was a lot of confusion at the scene and they thought it would be better to take my crew direct to the scene. At that point it was decided between dispatch and myself that my aircraft would take our patient to site 2 [about 18 NM] and meet air 2. We could refuel and return to the scene for another patient. As triage continued on the ground ready 2 lifted for site 1 medical center. My medic approached me and said our patient really needed to go direct to site 1 if possible. He was bleeding profusely if we went to site 2 we would have to decon the aircraft as well as fuel; so we would probably not be able to return to the scene on a timely basis. Could I get to site 1? I had 260lbs of fuel and I could get to the hospital. I also knew I would have to have fuel brought to the roof to complete the flight back to base. We lifted and I asked dispatch to see if there was still a mechanic at the base. The answer was yes; and we developed a plan for the mechanic to bring fuel to the hospital. We landed at site 1 medical center and shutdown. We loaded 40 pounds of gas for the 5 minute flight back to base. Lessons learned. I know in my heart and from 4 years experience as an EMS pilot that I cannot let patient condition affect my decision-making. The scene was a violent head-on collision and the vehicles and the occupants were a mess. I had a viable plan to go to site 2; which was 20 minutes closer to the scene than the hospital. Air 2 would have been available on my arrival to take my patient. I am upset with my decision to change the plan. I can't let patient condition influence decision-making. My decision to change the plan for site 2 was a poor decision on my part.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An EMS helicopter ran low on fuel after leaving an accident scene dispatched to a hospital further than he was comfortable with given the aircraft's remaining fuel.

Narrative: The ramp fuel ready level for this time of year for Ready 4 at Site 1 is 400 LBS or 1+20 including reserve. Just before XA00 we were toned out for a 2 ship scene. Ready 2 from Site 2 was also dispatched at the same time. I launched at XA:03 with approximately 410 LBS of fuel. I estimated our ETA at 30 minutes. Ready 2 launched at the same time with an ETA of 8 minutes. The forecast winds were 18 gusting 30 from the southwest; my heading was about 080 as I recall. The scene was just over 60 miles out and I estimated that fuel was going to be an issue for the second half of the flight. I told my crew that we had a couple of choices; I could divert to Site 2 now for more fuel or we could load the Patient at the scene and then go to Site 2 for fuel. I have just transferred from the east coast. Scene flights there were inside a 20 mile radius of base. This was my 8th scene flight in this base and longer than the 7 others by approximately 30 NM minimum. About 15 minutes into my flight Ready 2 was already on the scene and shutdown. The Ready 2 pilot radioed me that more aircraft were needed and that there were at least 4 patients that needed to be lifted. I called Dispatch and they in turn alerted Ready 3 in Site 3 and Air 2 a fixed wing based in Site 4 to reposition to Site 2 to accept a transfer. While I was on the radio with Dispatch my medical crew had established ground contact and it appeared there was a lot of confusion at the scene and they thought it would be better to take my crew direct to the scene. At that point it was decided between Dispatch and myself that my aircraft would take our Patient to Site 2 [about 18 NM] and meet Air 2. We could refuel and return to the scene for another patient. As triage continued on the ground Ready 2 lifted for Site 1 Medical Center. My Medic approached me and said our patient really needed to go direct to Site 1 if possible. He was bleeding profusely if we went to Site 2 we would have to decon the aircraft as well as fuel; so we would probably not be able to return to the scene on a timely basis. Could I get to Site 1? I had 260lbs of fuel and I could get to the hospital. I also knew I would have to have fuel brought to the roof to complete the flight back to base. We lifted and I asked Dispatch to see if there was still a Mechanic at the base. The answer was yes; and we developed a plan for the Mechanic to bring fuel to the hospital. We landed at Site 1 Medical center and shutdown. We loaded 40 LBS of gas for the 5 minute flight back to base. Lessons learned. I know in my heart and from 4 years experience as an EMS pilot that I cannot let patient condition affect my decision-making. The scene was a violent head-on collision and the vehicles and the occupants were a mess. I had a viable plan to go to Site 2; which was 20 minutes closer to the scene than the hospital. Air 2 would have been available on my arrival to take my patient. I am upset with my decision to change the plan. I can't let patient condition influence decision-making. My decision to change the plan for Site 2 was a poor decision on my part.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.