Chopper Down

[Niftymedi911]

Medstar Helicopter Crashes Near Captiva

By WINK News

Story Created: Aug 17, 2009 at 3:56 AM EDT

Story Updated: Aug 17, 2009 at 6:18 PM EDT

The FAA and NTSB will continue their investigations to determine what caused the MEDSTAR helicopter to go down without warning.

The EC-145 helicopter crash-landed while attempting to pickup a patient on Upper Captiva Island.

"I definitely heard cha.cha.cha.cha... Crash and I though maybe someone ran aground," say Max Lillie

What Max Lilie heard off the shore of upper Captiva wasn't a boat. It was the MEDSTAR helicopter crashing into the water, a few hundred yards offshore.

The helicopter was on a midnight run to pick up a patient when suddenly the crew was in need of rescue too.

"After a while I'd seen a couple of lights pop up. I didn't hear much commotion. I jumped in the golf cart and went down to the runway. I seen the fire department down there."

The chopper sat upside down in the water, but pilot Diana Tackett and medics Jason Ausman and Dave Duncan made it out safely.

They put their own emergency training to use. Ironically, all MEDSTAR personnel had recieved crash/water survival training in May, a first for the program.

"They climbed onto the aircraft, and you might have heard about lights. That was actually their flashlights. They were signaling to people on shore," says Rick O'Neal, of Lee County EMS.

The three were picked up and transported to pineland marina, and despite a few scratches and bruises, all three made it to land in good condition.

I just wanted to remind everyone to please be safe!!! Sometimes, no matter how big or small an agency you are..... things are going to happen. We're just lucky and blessed enough to have all three crew members alive with us today.

Edited August 23, 2009 by EMT City Administrator

[FireMedic65]

Glad everyone is alright. Also hope the patient they were going to help also got the help they needed.

Helicopters have always been dangerous and were never meant to fly. Even though they are so awesome!

Stay safe everyone.

[FL_Medic]

Glad everyone is alright. Also hope the patient they were going to help also got the help they needed.

Helicopters have always been dangerous and were never meant to fly. Even though they are so awesome!

Stay safe everyone.

The patient was a BLS head LAC. Only flying due to difficult egress from the island.

[Arctickat]

It says in the heading that "We lost one of our own" but the story mentions nothing about a fatality.

[AnthonyM83]

Definitely a misleading headline.

Do we know why it went down?

[fireflymedic]

Misleading title or not, it is always unnerving to hear of a crew possibly being injured. I'm just grateful all are okay.

Fly safe all in the air, and be safe on the ground ! Let's all come home after our shifts.

[chbare]

It will be at least a year before NTSB releases an official report on the probable cause of this incident. (Typical timeframe.) Regarding the helicopters are dangerous comment: helicopters are not inherently dangerous. The aerodynamic principles are sound. A properly maintained rotor wing aircraft is not dangerous and turbine engines are well known for reliability. In fact, most of our HEMS related incidents are not a result of pure mechanical issues. Typically, human factors are to blame for most of our crashes. (Pushing weather, CFIT, wire strikes, and so on...)

Glad everybody made it out in good condition.

Take care,

chbare.

[Pave-Exile]

It will be at least a year before NTSB releases an official report on the probable cause of this incident. (Typical timeframe.) Regarding the helicopters are dangerous comment: helicopters are not inherently dangerous. The aerodynamic principles are sound. A properly maintained rotor wing aircraft is not dangerous and turbine engines are well known for reliability. In fact, most of our HEMS related incidents are not a result of pure mechanical issues. Typically, human factors are to blame for most of our crashes. (Pushing weather, CFIT, wire strikes, and so on...)

Actually, I have to disagree here (as the admitted "new guy" :-)

Helicopters ARE inherently more dangerous than fixed wings. While the aerodynamics are "sound" they have more ways to screw up (F/W can only stall in one direction, helos can stall in several). Then there is the environment they are operated in...

While I agree that mechanical issues aren't a primary cause of accidnets, it's only one part of a "system" .

If it weren't for the fact that helos can do really cool things, I'd never set foot in one.

And I fly the dang things for a living.

v/r

Geoff

[chbare]

However, we are not comparing RW to FW aircraft.

Take care,

chbare.

[FireMedic65]

helis are just plan awesome... always have and always will