When a medical helicopter crashed onto Freeway 50 in Sacramento, shocked drivers rapidly reworked into rescuers. In a dramatic second, bystanders lifted the helicopter after the crash on a California freeway to free a crew member pinned beneath the wreckage.
The Emergency Touchdown on Freeway 50
The REACH Air Medical Providers helicopter had simply accomplished a affected person switch when an in flight emergency compelled an emergency touchdown. Dashcam video confirmed the plane descending low, hitting an embankment, skidding throughout lanes, and overturning on the busy freeway close to 59th Road.
Visitors stopped instantly as particles scattered all over the place. Remarkably, no motorists had been injured, one thing officers referred to as “astonishing” given the crash location.
A Unified Rescue Effort
Roughly fifteen bystanders who witnessed the crash rushed ahead, becoming a member of arriving firefighters. Sacramento Hearth Captain Peter Vandersluis directed the group to elevate the overturned helicopter so a trapped crew member may very well be freed.
He instructed them to elevate on command and maintain regular whereas one other firefighter crawled beneath. Inside one minute, the trapped crew member’s seat belt was minimize and she or he was pulled to security. As soon as clear, the group rigorously lowered the helicopter again down.
The Injured Crew Members
The helicopter carried three crew members: a pilot, a nurse, and a paramedic. All sustained vital accidents. One was pinned beneath the plane earlier than rescue, one other was discovered exterior the fuselage, and the pilot remained inside. They had been transported to close by hospitals for emergency care. Nurse Susie Smith was reported to be in particularly vital situation.
Regardless of the crash severity, the absence of accidents amongst freeway drivers confirmed how narrowly better tragedy was prevented.
Plane Particulars and Investigation
Eurocopter EC130 T2 (Airbus H130) | Photograph: airbus.com
The plane was recognized as a Eurocopter EC130 T2, a mannequin usually used for air ambulance missions. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) are analyzing the wreckage to find out what brought about the in flight emergency.
Authorities are assembling flight knowledge, pilot communications, and upkeep information to reconstruct the occasions resulting in the crash.
Acts of Heroism on the Freeway
Motorists who stopped to assist joined a unprecedented rescue effort. Some comforted the injured whereas others lifted wreckage alongside firefighters. Witness Isabella Lozano described holding a trapped crew member’s hand and urging her to remain alive.
Metropolis officers and neighborhood leaders praised the bystanders for his or her fast considering and bravado, calling their actions lifesaving.
Uncommon Freeway Helicopter Crashes
Cooperation between air rescue service and emergency medical service on the bottom.
Helicopter crashes onto energetic highways are very uncommon and pose distinctive dangers: leaking gasoline, unstable wreckage, fireplace hazards, and site visitors publicity. The dearth of a put up impression fireplace seemingly diminished risks for rescuers and victims.
From a technical view, lifting an plane by hand requires exact coordination. The bystanders’ means to boost the helicopter, even briefly, exhibits each the state of affairs’s urgency and the effectiveness of Vandersluis’s clear management.
