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A Utah family is heading to Washington, D.C., to convince Congress there needs to be more safety measures for emergency medical flights.
Traci Taylor says she's getting by raising three young boys. Her husband, James Taylor, died when the emergency helicopter he was on collided with a second emergency helicopter in Flagstaff, Ariz., last July.
"Changes need to be made so that this doesn't happen to another family," Traci said.
She's now headed to Washington with her sister-in-law Laurie Brady to try to convince Congress to pass proposed bills requiring higher safety standards for EMS flights. "We feel that we can make a difference," Laurie said.
She says there needs to be better communication between emergency flights and better monitoring systems so each flight knows where the others are in the area.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report today detailing the crashes of nine emergency medical helicopters, including the crash that killed James. Both Traci and Laurie plan to meet with the NTSB to express their concerns.
Meanwhile, the NTSB is scheduled to meet with Congress on the issue in February.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
