NTSB: Pilot's texting contributed to copter crash [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By JOAN LOWY

WASHINGTON (AP) - Texting by the pilot of a medical helicopter contributed to a crash that killed four people, federal accident investigators declared Tuesday, and they approved a safety alert cautioning all pilots against using cellphones or other distracting devices during critical operations.

It was the first fatal commercial aircraft accident investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board in which texting has been implicated. And it underscored the board's worries that distractions from electronic devices are a growing factor in incidents across all modes of transportation - planes, trains, cars, trucks and even ships.

While no U.S. airline crashes have been tied to electronic device use, the Federal Aviation Administration in January proposed regulations prohibiting airline flight crews from using cellphones and other wireless devices while a plane is in operation. The regulations are required under a law passed last year by Congress in response to an October 2010 incident in which two Northwest Airlines pilots overflew their destination of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by 100 miles while they were engrossed in working on their laptops.

Regulations already in place prohibit airline pilots from engaging in potentially distracting activities during critical phases of flight such as takeoffs, landings and taxiing. In some cases, however, pilots are allowed to use tablet computers containing safety and navigation procedures known as "electronic flight bags," replacing paper documents.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130409/DA5I8AG00.html

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This photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, shows the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed near Mosby, Mo., on Aug. 26, 2011. The pilot of an emergency medical helicopter may have been distracted by text messages when he failed to refuel his helicopter and misjudged how far he could fly before running out of fuel. The helicopter crashed, killing the pilot and three others on board. Government investigators are expected to point the case as another example of the distracting role cellphones and other electronic devices are playing in transportation accidents. (AP Photo/NTSB)