VANCOUVER — Helijet’s $104-million contract to operate air ambulances in B.C. is in danger of being cancelled because of Transport Canada safety concerns.
Helijet International Inc. has stopped landing air ambulances on helipads at several major B.C. hospitals, as well as those in Nanaimo, Comox and Sechelt. Instead, the medevac helicopters are going to airports or the heliport on the downtown Vancouver waterfront. Patients are then transferred to a ground ambulance, adding precious minutes to the trips, delaying emergency treatment for critically ill patients.
Vancouver-based Helijet took the step after a non-compliance order last week from Transport Canada. Its interpretation is that the model of aircraft Helijet uses aren’t supposed to do night flights onto so-called H1 category hospital helipads — those in dense urban areas — and the aircraft need more windows so that if one engine fails, pilots have unobstructed vision for an emergency landing.
B.C. Emergency Health Services has asked lawyers at its parent agency, the Provincial Health Services Authority, to investigate the possibility of cancelling the contract, which has three years to run.
But Helijet vice-president Rick Hill said service should return to normal this week, as the company expects to get an exemption. A meeting is also planned between the federal transport minister in Ottawa and several helicopter and air ambulance representatives.
Helijet uses three Sikorsky 76C helicopters as air ambulances under an eight-year contract that expires in 2019.
Transport Canada identified its concerns with Helijet’s 76Cs in March after reviewing the Sikorsky performance manuals. Hill said Helijet voluntarily stopped landing at hospitals for about a week in March until an exemption was granted.
But a night time landing last week led Transport Canada to reinstate its non-compliance order. So Helijet has gone back to Transport Canada asking for another exemption that would buy time to modify the helicopters, persuade Sikorsky to modify the manuals or find different helicopters.
“Transport Canada feels we are not in compliance,” Hill said. “But we have agreed to disagree, so now we are seeking another exemption to go into effect while the manufacturer clarifies flight manuals, but that will take 18 to 24 months.
“We’ve been offering a medevac service for 18 years,” he said, adding there have been no fatal accidents. Hill said if the “administrative issue” with Transport Canada can’t be resolved, Helijet will find other helicopters because the company doesn’t want to lose the contract.
Linda Lupini, vice-president of Emergency Health Services, said she’s not aware of any patients who have been hurt by the delays, but that is being monitored, and lawyers are exploring whether the contract has been breached.
“It’s not an optimal situation but it’s manageable. We can’t compromise on public or patient safety,” said Lupini.
Lupini said Helijet does nearly 700 landings on roofs of affected hospitals each year, including Royal Columbian and Vancouver General — both designated trauma hospitals — Surrey Memorial, B.C. Children’s and B.C. Women’s.
She said the helicopter models being used were originally designed for solo pilots flying to oil rigs, but were retrofitted as medevac machines with two pilots and, at night, they land on brightly lit hospital pads.
“It seems they are worried about not having enough windows on the right side,” Lupini said.
