Audit Criticizes Fire Department Over Helicopter Unit Problems

The Los Angeles Fire Department has failed to correct some problems with its helicopter unit and has not yet enacted a replacement program for older aircraft, a state audit said Friday.

The report comes a year and a half after three firefighters and the injured child they were treating were killed in a helicopter crash. Although the audit said the department has taken some action since the March 1998 crash, it found that the agency “underemphasizes training and other safety issues.”

An investigation into the crash showed that the 22-year-old helicopter lost a tail rotor because of a fatigue fracture, and that the craft was not equipped with helmets, tether straps and other safety devices.

Since then, the department has purchased helmets and straps, as well as two new helicopters, and has drafted a program for regular replacement of its six helicopters that has yet to receive City Council approval, Fire Chief William Bamattre said.

State Auditor Kurt Sjoberg recommended that the city put air operations under the control of a pilot instead of a firefighter, improve training for pilots and enact a policy that all helicopters be replaced on a regular schedule.

“The city can do more in staffing, training and providing equipment to enhance the safety and effectiveness of its Air Operations Unit,” the audit concluded.

Bamattre said that the department has taken major steps to improve helicopter safety but that the other reforms cannot be initiated until approved and funded by the council.

“We embrace the state audit,” said Battalion Chief Daryl Arbuthnott. “We are taking action. Nothing happens fast in city government.”

The audit was released by state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), who criticized the city for not doing more to improve safety since the Los Feliz helicopter crash.

Many of the same problems were identified by the Fire Department in 1989, so more should have been done by now, Alarcon said.

“I think it’s absolutely unconscionable for the Fire Department not to do everything possible to make their helicopters safe,” Alarcon said during a news conference at the downtown office of the firefighters union.

Ken Buzzell, president of the union, said the department has taken too long to improve safety.

“Here we are a year and a half after this tragedy and we’re still waiting for these corrections to take place,” Buzzell said.

Alarcon and Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Burbank) announced Friday that they will sponsor legislation to require statewide standards for emergency helicopters.

The audit found that various fire departments have different standards for training, employment and operations.

For instance, the Los Angeles Fire Department requires pilots to have 500 hours of flight time to qualify for its Air Operations Unit. The Los Angeles County Fire Department requires 4,000 hours, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department requires 3,000 hours.

“Clearly what the audit has shown is there isn’t the appropriate staffing, there hasn’t been the appropriate training, and we really need to fix this,” Wildman said.

Council officials have not yet determined the cost of the replacement program. The department has requested $749,000 to increase helicopter staffing so that paramedics who serve on the aircraft can be assigned exclusively to the Air Operations Unit based at Van Nuys Airport.

In the past, paramedics and new pilots have worked at regular fire stations and were on call for helicopter flights as needed. That “double duty” took them away from training and air operations, and sometimes delayed responses to calls, the state audit said.

The department is also working on proposals to require more flight hours before pilots can qualify for helicopter service. Officials also want to create a chief pilot position.