49 U.S.C. § 44730 — Helicopter air ambulance operations

(a) Compliance Regulations. (1) Except as (2) allows, a part 135 certificate holder providing air ambulance services must comply, whenever medical personnel are on board, with part 135's weather-minimum and flight and duty time rules. (2) If that certificate holder is operating or training under instrument flight rules, the destination weather-reporting requirement doesn't apply if the FAA authorizes skipping it. (b) Final Rule. By June 1, 2012, the FAA had to issue a final rule — building on the notice of proposed rulemaking published October 12, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 62640) — to improve the safety of flight crewmembers, medical personnel, and passengers aboard helicopters providing part 135 air ambulance services. (c) Matters To Be Addressed. In that rulemaking, the FAA had to consider, or otherwise address, (1) flight request and dispatch procedures, including performance-based dispatch procedures; (2) pilot training standards, including training in preventing controlled flight into terrain and recovering from unintended flight into instrument weather conditions; (3) safety-enhancing technology and equipment, including helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems, radar altimeters, and, where feasible, devices that function as flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders; and (4) any other matters the FAA considers appropriate. (d) Minimum Requirements. In issuing the (b) final rule, the FAA had to at least consider, or otherwise address, (1) requiring a part 135 helicopter air-ambulance operator to (A) establish a flight risk evaluation program, based on FAA Notice 8000.301 (issued August 1, 2005) and its updates, (B) develop, as part of that program, a checklist pilots use to decide whether to accept a flight request, and (C) require its pilots to use that checklist; and (2) requiring a part 135 helicopter air-ambulance operator using 10 or more helicopters to have an operational control center meeting FAA-prescribed requirements. (e) Subsequent Actions. (1) After finishing the (b) rulemaking, the FAA had to address, through a follow-on rulemaking or other appropriate means, (A) pilot training standards, including mandatory training requirements with a minimum completion time, training subject areas like communications procedures and technology use, and training standards for crew resource management, flight risk evaluation, pilot-in-command operational control, and use of flight simulation training devices and line-oriented flight training; and (B) safety equipment that flight crewmembers and medical personnel should wear or use, including possible shoulder harnesses, helmets, seatbelts, and fire-resistant clothing to improve crash survivability. (2) Nothing in this subsection requires the FAA to propose or finalize a rule that would weaken or replace the rule required under (b). (f) Definitions. (1) "Part 135" means 14 C.F.R. part 135. (2) "Part 135 certificate holder" means a person holding an operating certificate under part 119 that's authorized to conduct civil helicopter air ambulance operations under part 135.