Crew makes lucky escape after helicopter crash
Four crew members have survived a helicopter crash that occurred in Lawton, Oklahoma, US on 29 September.
Four crew members have survived a helicopter crash that occurred in Lawton, Oklahoma, US on 29 September. The chopper was headed to a local hospital with no patient onboard when it was forced to make an emergency landing in the middle of the road, according to news outlet ABC 7News.
The helicopter belonged to Survival Flight, a company that had only been given its licence to fly in the area earlier in the week. Survival Flight has been operating as a HEMS service for seven years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board have been called in to investigate the cause of the crash.
A witness told ABC 7News that the helicopter was flying low with no lights on at around 06:00 hrs before crashing into the street. The pilot managed to miss any buildings or cars in the area.
“You never want to speculate. It’s an aircraft and there’s a lot of things that go on in-flight,” Vice president of EMS services for Survival Flight Andy Arthurs told ABC 7News. “You just don’t know until they've gotten down the road with their investigation, so I wouldn't hesitate to say I can't speculate because I truly just don't know."
Arthurs said that it was the first incident Survival Flight has had and that the first thing he thought about when he heard of the crash was the crew. He added: “Our preparedness at Survival Flight has really been since the call came in early this morning was to take care of our people. The aircraft is just a piece of machinery. Fortunately, there was no one on the ground, and fortunately, our crew was not hurt."