Story ID: 
OSHA Orders Air Methods To Reinstate Pilot
By: AIN Staff
Caption: Pilot lost his job for refusing to fly an aircraft he deemed unsafe.
Word Count: 183
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on January 8 ordered EMT operator Air Methods to rehire a pilot it terminated on Aug. 5, 2013, for failure to accept a trip in a helicopter the pilot considered unsafe. OSHA found that Air Methods violated the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21) when it fired the pilot from its Lucasville, Ohio station five days after the July 30, 2013, incident, in which the pilot refused a trip into mountainous terrain after he discovered during the preflight that the aircraft’s ELT was inoperative.

In the finding, OSHA ordered Air Methods not only to rehire the pilot but also to repay $158,000 in back wages and another $8,500 in damages. The company was also ordered to remove any disciplinary information related to the incident from the employee’s personnel record and refocus company efforts to protect whistleblower rights.

In a statement, OSHA said, “Disciplining an employee for following safety procedures is illegal and puts everyone at risk.”