Shortly after takeoff, it crashed in a nearby parking lot,
colliding with an RV, a pickup truck and a camper, sparking a large fire.
JULY 3, 2015
FRISCO, COLORADO
The pilot was killed and two other people injured Friday
afternoon when a Flight-for-Life helicopter burst into flames shortly after
taking off near St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco.
Air Methods, the Centennial Airport-based company that
operated the helicopter, reported the flight paramedic and flight nurse on
board the aircraft were injured.
The pilot, 64-year-old Patrick Mahany, was declared dead at
the scene at 3:34 p.m., the Summit Daily news reported. He had been a
pilot for Flight for Life since 1987, and received a bronze star and a purple
heart for his service as a pilot in the Vietnam War.
A flight paramedic and flight nurse were taken to Denver
“with significant, but I believe, survivable injuries,” Jodie Taylor, trauma
medical director with St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, said at a news
conference Friday evening.
One was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, and the
other was taken to University Hospital. Neither of their names have been
released, Summit Daily reported.
“We are deeply saddened that our pilot was fatally injured,
and our hearts go out to the pilot’s family,” Taylor said. She added that he
had died by the time crews pulled him from the aircraft.
The helicopter was not responding to a medical emergency
when it took off, and no patient was on board, said Tineil Ilano, spokeswoman
for the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after takeoff, it crashed in a nearby parking lot,
colliding with an RV, a pickup truck and a camper, sparking a large fire.
“The FAA and the NTSB have our full cooperation as they
further investigate the accident,” Air Methods spokeswoman Christina Brodsly
wrote to 7NEWS. “We want to continue to make sure we have all of the facts
correct. We will be back in touch with you once we have more information.”
Air Methods has air-medical tranport operations in 48
states.
The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that the
helicopter was an Airbus AS-350.
The fire was extinguished by Lake Dillon Fire, Red and White
and Blue Fire and the Copper Mountain Fire Department, authorities said.
Summit County Sheriff’s deputies, Frisco police and Summit
County Ambulance health care workers also responded to the fire.
The last fatal air ambulance crash in Colorado was in
October 2007 when a paramedic and a flight nurse aboard were killed when the
the Black Hawk helicopter went down west of Alamosa, The Denver Post
reported.
|
Date:
|
03-JUL-2015
|
|
Time:
|
14:45
|
|
Type:
|
|
|
Owner/operator:
|
Air Methods Inc
|
|
Registration:
|
|
|
C/n / msn:
|
|
|
Fatalities:
|
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
|
|
Other fatalities:
|
0
|
|
Airplane damage:
|
Written off (damaged beyond repair)
|
|
Location:
|
Near St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, Frisco, CO -
United
States of America |
|
Phase:
|
Take off
|
|
Nature:
|
Ferry/positioning
|
|
Departure airport:
|
St Anthony Med Cntr
|
|
Destination airport:
|
Narrative:
The Flight for Life aircraft operated by Air Methods Incoporated departed controlled flight and impacted parking lot terrain shortly after takeoff from St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, Frisco, Colorado. The helicopter was consumed by the post-impact fire and the pilot onboard received fatal injuries. Two of the three crew onboard the aircraft were seriously injured.
The Flight for Life aircraft operated by Air Methods Incoporated departed controlled flight and impacted parking lot terrain shortly after takeoff from St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, Frisco, Colorado. The helicopter was consumed by the post-impact fire and the pilot onboard received fatal injuries. Two of the three crew onboard the aircraft were seriously injured.
Sources:
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=177557
http://gazette.com/medical-helicopter-crashes-in-summit-county/article/1554951
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28429552/flight-life-helicopter-crash-ignites-fire-frisco
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/07/03/flames-ignite-in-frisco-medical-helicopter-involved/
https://www.flightforlifecolorado.org/flc/home/
https://www.flightforlifecolorado.org/flc/home/
Air Medical
Airbus Helicopters, Inc.’s family of helicopters are the
aircraft of choice for air medical service providers across the United States,
accounting for three-quarters of all deliveries in this segment over the past
decade.
From
the light single-engine AS350 AStar turbine helicopter to the twin-engine
EC155, hospitals and air medical service providers count on Airbus Helicopters,
Inc. when safety, performance and reliability can literally mean the difference
between life and death.
AS350
The AS350 AStar has established itself as the most popular
single-engine emergency medical services (EMS) rotorcraft in U.S. service,
offering a combination of safety, low operating costs and a spacious cabin.
One major operator of the AS350 is Air Methods Corporation, the nation’s
largest air medical transportation provider. In 2012, Air Methods ordered
six additional AS350 B3e helicopters to further expand its fleet of more than
330 Airbus Helicopters-built aircraft.
Other AS350 air medical customers in the U.S. include: Air Evac Services Inc.; EagleMed; Hospital Wing; LifeNet Arizona; Southwest Med Evac; and PHI.
Other AS350 air medical customers in the U.S. include: Air Evac Services Inc.; EagleMed; Hospital Wing; LifeNet Arizona; Southwest Med Evac; and PHI.
EC130
The EC130 brings together the powerful engine, dual-channel
Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) and dual hydraulics of the AS350
B3e with an enlarged cabin interior and Fenestron® anti-torque tail rotor.
Combining low operating costs with the roomiest cabin size in its class, the
EC130 is rapidly becoming a popular choice for EMS missions – with current
operators including Air Methods, Medi Flight Oklahoma, Hospital Wing and
MedFlight of Ohio.
EC135
Airbus Helicopters, Inc.’s EC135 is the twin-engine platform
of choice for many air medical service providers, accounting for over 50
percent of all twin-engine air medical services deliveries over the past
decade. The EC135 is offered with a wide range of dedicated EMS interiors,
maximizing the operator’s choices for single-patient, dual-patient or isolette
transport. The EC135’s Fenestron tail rotor and rear-fuselage clamshell doors
offer the safest and easiest loading possible, while the aircraft’s
anti-resonance isolation system ensures that patients are given the smoothest
possible ride.
Major U.S. EMS operators and service providers with the
EC135 include Air Methods Corporation, Med-Trans Corporation, Midwest Medical
Transport Co., MidAtlantic MedEvac, Metro Aviation, Northwest MedStar, PennSTAR
AMS, PHI Air Medical, REACH Air Medical Services, ProMedica Air, Med-Trans,
STAT MedEvac, and CALSTAR.
EC145
The EC145 enjoys an exceptional EMS heritage in the shape of
its BK117 predecessor, and has rapidly become the platform of choice in its
class. Providing the highest levels of safety and performance, the EC145
is offered with a wide range of comprehensively-equipped air medical services
interiors. The EC145 combines a spacious cabin with a high-mounted tail
rotor, allowing for safe patient loading through wide sliding doors or rear
window-equipped rear clamshell doors.
The
growing list of EC145 air medical services customers reads like a “who’s who”
of air medical service providers in the United States, and includes:
Allegheny General Hospital’s LifeFlight AMS; EmergyCare Erie
LifeStar; Florida Hospital Medical Center; Geisinger Life
Flight; Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center’s MedLink Air; Mayo
Medical Services; Memorial Hermann Hospital; Stanford Life Flight;
STAT MedEvac; Travis County STAR Flight; the University of
Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center’s LifeFlight; OSF Aviation; Air Care
& Mobile Care; University of Utah’s AirMed Program; Metro Aviation and
Vanderbilt LifeFlight. The EC145 is also utilized in the medical
evacuation (MEDEVAC) role by the U.S. Army in its UH-72A Lakota version.
The EC145 T2 is the latest evolution for Airbus Helicopters,
Inc.’s twin-engine multi-purpose helicopter family. With more powerful
Turbomeca Arriel 2E engines and a Fenestron tail rotor, the EC145 T2 offers
improved performance and safer operations for air medical service providers.
AS365 N3 and EC155
For long-distance, multi-patient or multi-mission
transports, Airbus Helicopters, Inc. offers the AS365 N3 Dauphin and the
wide-body EC155. These high-performance platforms offer outstanding cabin
space, maximizing patient care and access. The AS365 and EC155 also
provide the smoothest of rides and high cruise speeds, plus genuine all-weather
capabilities. The AS365 is currently utilized by eight air medical
operators, including Life Lion Air Medical, Miami Valley Hospital Careflight,
Parkview Samaritan, the University of Chicago Hospitals' Aeromedical Network
and West Michigan Air Care.
Among the EC155’s air medical customers are the University
of Michigan’s Survival Flight and ShandsCair.