MADISON, Wis. â?? The war in Iraq is creating a major â?? and perhaps deadly â?? shortage of night vision goggles for civilian pilots who fly medical helicopters in the U.S.
The National Transportation Safety Board has encouraged the use of such equipment since 2006 to reduce the risk of deadly nighttime crashes during emergency medical flights.
But air ambulance services that fly sick or injured people to the hospital have been put on waiting lists of a year or more by makers of night-vision gear because the U.S. military has contracts that give it priority.