A fire broke out after two medical helicopters collided in Flagstaff, Arizona, on June 29, 2008, killing six and injuring one. Photo from the Flagstaff Police Department, via AP.

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Medical helicopter crashes that have killed 28 people so far this year and made 2008 the deadliest on record for such accidents mostly occurred in flying conditions long known by the government to be dangerous, a newspaper reported Sunday. Yet the risky air ambulance takeoffs continue without better evaluation measures or stricter flight rules supported for years by federal investigators, the Houston Chronicle found. Bad weather and night flights were common factors in the 65 fatal crashes investigated by the National Transportation and Safety Board since 1989, according to the newspaper.

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