Helicopter crash report released
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board sheds some light on the circumstances of a medical helicopter crash that killed the crew of three just north of the Ross Barnett Reservoir early last month.
The crash occurred on March 10, at about 12:37 p.m. just a quarter mile southwest of the Turcotte Fish Hatchery.
The NTSB report says a Turcotte Fish Hatchery manager heard “a boom or an explosion” drawing his attention to the helicopter.
The report says the manager saw the helicopter descend “at a pretty good rate” and it appeared to him that the helicopter pilot was “having trouble controlling” the helicopter.
“He said the time from the “boom” to helicopter’s impact with the ground spanned no more than about 15 seconds,” the report says.
The helicopter, known as AirCare3, had just dropped off a patient at St. Dominic, had refueled at UMMC, and was headed back to Columbus, where it was based, according to the NTSB report. The pilot and two UMMC care team members were on board at the time of the crash.
The report says the flight home to Columbus was classified as “low risk” according to a flight risk assessment through the operator’s safety management system.
About five minutes before the accident, the pilot reported “clear to the north” with air traffic control at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. The report says the pilot then ended contact with air traffic control at the Jackson airport.
Shortly after the helicopter flew over the Pearl River State Wildlife Management Area, it began to descend, the report says. About halfway through the descent, the flight nurse transmitted over the radio to the UMMC MED-COM, “We’ve got a major problem, we are having an emergency landing in a field right now, ops are not good, controls are giving us a lot of trouble, coming in fast,” the report says.
No further radio transmissions were recorded from the helicopter from either the UMMC MED-COM or air traffic control, the report said.
The information in the report is “preliminary and subject to change.” According to Todd Inman, an NTSB spokesman, the investigators hope to issue a final report within the next 12 to 24 months. However, Inman said, investigators will ensure it is thorough and complete.
“We will take as long as it takes,” Inman said when the investigation began.
The NTSB is investigating the flight in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center has identified the three victims as Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia; Jakob Kindt, 37, of Tupelo; and Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville.
Pope was the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus and a flight nurse and Kindt was a critical care paramedic from. The UMMC release says they both started working for UMMC on Aug. 14, 2017. The Med-Trans pilot was Wesolowski.
The helicopter had its most recent inspection during an approved aircraft inspection program just under three hours before the accident, the report says.
The report also details a “postimpact fire” at the crash site that burned for three hours and destroyed much of the wreckage.
“Due to the remote location of the accident site, fire department units had to deploy 1,300 feet of hose after the initial fire suppression, which was carried out using tank water,” The report reads. “Water was then shuttled for the remainder of the firefighting operation.”
AirCare, a helicopter emergency medical service, responds to emergencies around the state. AirCare is a hybrid relationship between UMMC and Med-Trans Corporation, with UMMC providing the clinical teams and Med-Trans providing the pilots and aircraft operations. This was the first crash in the 29-year history of the AirCare service at UMMC.