Who decides where a medical helicopter lands at a car accident scene, the sheriff or the fire department?

Plain-English summary

At a bad car wreck, a Navarro County sheriff's deputy and the chief of the Navarro Mills Volunteer Fire Department both thought they were in charge of deciding where a medical helicopter should land to fly an injured person to the hospital. The deputy said he had command of the scene because it was a traffic accident; the chief said he had command because of his experience and the need to get patients out by air. The county's Criminal District Attorney asked the Attorney General who actually had the final say.

The opinion started by noting that Texas law gives sheriff's deputies and fire departments overlapping but different jobs at an accident. Some statutes let a deputy investigate certain traffic accidents and act as a conservator of the peace; others let a fire department provide fire protection and emergency medical services. So both kinds of agencies have real authority at a crash, but in different lanes.

The key point was that no Texas statute, court decision, or regulation says whether the fire department or the sheriff has "command decision authority" or "final say" on where to land a helicopter. The answer comes from federal aviation law instead. Under the FAA's general operating and flight rules, the pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft. Texas air-ambulance regulations point the same way. So the Attorney General concluded the helicopter pilot, not the fire chief and not the sheriff's deputy, decides where the helicopter lands.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2011. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later Attorney General opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

Sheriff's offices and deputies (as the opinion held for them): The opinion told them that, while Texas law lets a deputy investigate certain traffic accidents and keep the peace, no statute or regulation gives the sheriff's office the final say on where a medical helicopter lands.

Fire departments and chiefs (as the opinion held for them): The opinion likewise held that a fire department's authority to provide fire protection and emergency medical services does not include "command decision authority" over the helicopter landing site.

Helicopter operators and pilots (what the opinion identified as controlling): The opinion pointed to federal rules making the pilot in command the final authority as to the operation of the aircraft, so under the opinion the pilot decided where to land for a patient transport.

Common questions

Who has the final say on where a medevac helicopter lands at an accident?
The opinion concluded the helicopter pilot does, not the fire department or the sheriff's office.

Doesn't the sheriff or fire chief command the accident scene?
They have authority over their own functions, but the opinion found no Texas law giving either one "command decision authority" over the helicopter's landing site.

Where does the pilot's authority come from?
The opinion relied on federal aviation rules providing that the pilot in command is directly responsible for, and the final authority as to, the operation of the aircraft.

Background and statutory framework

Texas law gives law enforcement and fire agencies overlapping spheres at a motor vehicle accident. A sheriff's deputy is a conservator of the peace and may investigate certain traffic accidents. Fire departments may provide fire protection and emergency medical services. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. § 352.001(c) (West 2005); Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 773.012(b)(8) (West 2010). But no Texas statute, judicial opinion, or regulation assigns either agency "command decision authority" or "final say on where to land a helicopter."

Federal regulation supplies the answer. The FAA General Operating and Flight Rules provide that the pilot in command is "directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft." 14 C.F.R. § 91.3(a) (2011). Texas air-ambulance regulations are consistent, requiring operators of rotary-wing air ambulances to direct and control the integrated medical and aviation activities. 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 157.12(a) (2011). The entity operating the helicopter and the organization in charge of medical functions vary by jurisdiction. Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 775.021-.026 (West 2010).

Citations

Statutes and regulations:

• 14 C.F.R. § 91.3(a) (2011)
• Tex. Loc. Gov't Code Ann. § 352.001(c) (West 2005)
• Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 773.012(b)(8) (West 2010)
• 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 157.12(a) (2011)
• Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 775.021-.026 (West 2010)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0859
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2011/ga0859.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

May 5, 2011

The Honorable R. Lowell Thompson Opinion No. GA-0859
Navarro County Criminal District Attorney
300 West 3rd Avenue, Suite 203 Re: Whether a sheriff or a fire department is
Corsicana, Texas 75110 responsible for determining where to land a
helicopter during the investigation of a traffic
accident (RQ-0932-GA)

Dear Mr. Thompson:

You inform us that a Navarro County Sheriff's deputy and the Navarro Mills Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to a serious motor vehicle accident. At the scene, the fire chief and sheriff's deputy disagreed over who could choose the landing site for a helicopter to take an accident victim to the hospital.[1] Request Letter at 2. You write that the "deputy was of the opinion that he had command decision authority due to the traffic accident scene" and the "chief asserted he had command based on his experience and the need to transport the patients to the hospital via helicopter." Id. Accordingly, you ask, "who has command authority of a traffic accident scene? Specifically does the fire department or the sheriff's office have final say on where to land a helicopter?" Id. at 1.

As you note, some Texas laws authorize a sheriff's deputy to investigate certain motor vehicle accidents. Id. at 3 n.1 (citing articles 2.17 and 2.20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, providing respectively that a sheriff's deputy is "a conservator of the peace in his county" and a duty imposed by this Code upon the sheriff may lawfully be performed by his deputy; and citing section 550.041(a) of the Transportation Code, providing that a peace officer may investigate certain kinds of traffic accidents). Other laws authorize a fire department to provide fire protection and emergency medical services. See, e.g., TEX. LOC. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 352.001(c) (West 2005) (authorizing a commissioners court to contract with a volunteer fire department to provide fire protection for areas outside a municipality). See also, e.g., TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 773.012(b)(8) (West 2010) (indicating that fire departments might provide emergency medical services). Thus, Texas statutes establish that law enforcement agencies and fire departments have different but related spheres of legal authority on matters relating to motor vehicle accidents.

However, no Texas statute, judicial opinion, or regulation establishes whether a fire or sheriff's department would have "command decision authority" or "final say on where to land a helicopter" at a motor vehicle accident site. Instead, federal regulations establish that the pilot in command of a helicopter is "directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft." FAA General Operating and Flight Rules, 14 C.F.R. § 91.3(a) (2011).[2]

SUMMARY

The helicopter pilot rather than a fire department or sheriff's office has the final say on where to land a helicopter for the purpose of transporting patients from a motor vehicle accident.

Very truly yours,

DANIEL T. HODGE
First Assistant Attorney General

DAVID J. SCHENCK
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

JASON BOATRIGHT
Chair, Opinion Committee

Jason Boatright
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] Letter from Honorable R. Lowell Thompson, Navarro County Criminal District Attorney, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas at 2 (Nov. 17, 2011), https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opin/index_rq.shtml ("Request Letter").

[2] Consistent with this federal requirement, state regulations provide that "[p]ersons or entities operating rotary wing air ambulances must direct and control the integrated activities of both the medical and aviation components." 25 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 157.12(a) (2011) (Tex. Dep't of State Health Services, Rotor-Wing Air Ambulance Operations). Although the pilot of a helicopter is responsible for its operation, "typically the organization in charge of the medical functions directs the combined efforts of the aviation and medical components during patient transport operations." Id. The entity operating the helicopter and the organization in charge of the medical functions will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction within the state. See generally TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. §§ 775.021-.026 (West 2010) (providing requirements for the creation of emergency service districts in and among counties and municipalities).