Goose found in wreckage of Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter
A collision with a goose may have been behind the crash of an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter in the US state of Oklahoma last month
A preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that the corpse of a goose was found in the crashed aircraft’s flight control system.
The report also noted that additional dead geese were found near to the crash site.
The helicopter, operated by emergency medical services (EMS) provider Air Evac Lifeteam, crashed at around 23:23 hrs near the city of Weatherford, Oklahoma, on Saturday 20 January.
The crash’s three victims were subsequently named by the company as Pilot Russell Haslam, Flight Nurse Adam Tebben, and Medic Steven FitzGerald.
While the preliminary report offers some insights into the potential cause of the crash, the NTSB noted that a full, final report on the incident could take up to two years to complete.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.