Detailed Summary

Air Medical Service Safety Improvement Act of 2008 - Requires all pilots of a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft providing emergency medical services, if there is a medical crew on board, without regard to whether there are patients on board, to comply with federal safety operating requirements governing commuter and on demand operations as well as persons on board aircraft. Prescribes other requirements for such aircraft when operating under instrument flight rules or carrying out training.

Requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to initiate a rulemaking to: (1) create a standardized checklist of risk evaluation factors which shall be used by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft emergency medical service operators to determine whether a mission should be accepted; (2) require such operators to implement and comply with performance based flight dispatch and flight-following procedures; and (3) develop a method to assess and ensure that such operators comply with the latter requirements.

Requires helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service operations to have on board a terrain awareness and warning system device that meets FAA guidelines.

Requires the Administrator to issue: (1) a report on the availability, survivability, and costs of devices that record voice communications and flight data information on existing and new helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft used for emergency medical service operations; and (2) regulations to require such devices on board such aircraft.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 7/8/2008: Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Points in Favor

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Points Against

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