Praise for pilot after emergency landing

A pilot has been praised for performing an emergency landing after a WellmontOne Air Transport Bell 407 helicopter suffered an in-flight mechanical fault. All onboard survived the incident.

The single-engine aircraft was dispatched to Johnson County, Tennessee, US, to transport a patient on 3 June. Soon after taking off with a patient and medical crew onboard, the pilot, an employee of PHI Air Medical, which owns and operates the aircraft, identified a mechanical condition that required immediate landing. He executed emergency procedures to bring the aircraft to the ground, limiting risk to the passengers and damage to the aircraft, Wellmont Health System and PHI Air Medical reported.

Images of the helicopter showed that the landing skids took the brunt of the impact. According to media reports, witnesses on the ground heard distinct popping sounds and saw black smoke being emitted from the aircraft before it descended rapidly from some 100 ft (30 m) in the air.

Another emergency medical services agency took the patient, who had been injured in a road traffic collision, to hospital for treatment. Additionally, the pilot was taken to a nearby medical facility after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.

Wellmont and PHI Air Medical said the incident is being reviewed to determine exactly what happened, adding: “We are grateful for the quick actions of the crew, which demonstrated their extensive training, and are relieved that all are safe.”