Medic Involved In 2006 Crash Calls For More Safety Measures

CICERO, Ind. -- A former flight paramedic who survived a helicopter crash in 2006 is urging more safety measures be put in place in the aftermath of Sunday's fatal Air Evac crash.

On the morning of Feb. 2, 2006, Danny Kelly was on a medical flight out of Anderson, headed to pick up a trauma patient in Kokomo when the helicopter went down in Chesterfield.

"We ended up flying into a big fog bank. I don't remember a lot about that morning or anything or the weeks afterwards, actually," he told 6News' Jennifer Carmack.

Kelly and the two other crew members onboard survived, but suffered severe injuries. Kelly broke both legs, several ribs and his shoulder and suffered a pulmonary contusion to the lungs, as well as severe facial injuries.

After 10 surgeries and a year of rehabilitation, Kelly said he realized he wouldn't be able to go back to being a medic.

"I really can't do that anymore because of a nerve injury, double vision problems and a great deal of reading problems," he said.

Watching images of Sunday's Air Evac crash -- in which the pilot, a paramedic and a nurse were killed -- brought Kelly back to his own crash and also shines a light on the risks of the job, he said.

"This crashed in our back yard. I mean, this was close to home and I hope this wakes people up a bit to how truly dangerous this is," Kelly said.

There are more than 700 medical helicopters in operation across the country, and accidents have increased 130 percent in the past 15 years, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. So far this year, there have been eight crashes and 20 fatalities.

Kelly said he would like to see tighter safety standards when patients are not on board the helicopters, as was the case Sunday and in the 2006 crash. There is also a nationwide push to require black boxes on all helicopters, along with terrain awareness warning systems to let pilots know how close they are to the ground.

"Anybody that gets on an aircraft like that and goes on a run, they could be next. It's just so, so dangerous," Kelly said.

A joint memorial service for those killed in Sunday's crash -- paramedic Wade Weston, nurse Sandra Pearson and pilot Roger Warren -- will be held Saturday morning. The location will be released later in the week.

Slideshow: 3 Killed In Medical Helicopter Crash