WASHINGTON (WIAT) — The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary investigation report on the April 2 medical helicopter crash near Chelsea that killed two people.
According to the report, an Airbus Helicopter EC 130 T2 was significantly damaged in an accident at 5:23 p.m. The accident site was on the side of a country road.
It noted a witness and his wife were driving down a road when they saw a helicopter to the side of the road. It was about 100 feet away from them and 3-4 feet off the ground. Then, the helicopter ascended and turned toward the road the witness was traveling on. The helicopter was above the witness’ car for several seconds before turning back toward a field. Immediately, the aircraft’s nose pitched down and crashed behind the witness.
Another witness claimed he and his wife were outside their house when they saw a helicopter hovering over a field across the road. He mentioned he saw the helicopter’s tail go straight up in the air before it flew sideways and hit the ground.
A deputy sheriff’s dash camera captured the helicopter coming over the trees until it went on out of view for about one second. The aircraft then showed up nose down before colliding on the road. The helicopter slid for about 20 feet and then rested in the grass on its left side.
The forward fuselage and left windshield broke, and the left side doors showed damaged from the impact and were separated from the cabin. Heavy post-impact fire damage was seen in the engine compartment area. There was also some fire damage in the transmission housing area.
An Appareo Vision 1000 video/data recorder from the helicopter was forwarded to the NTSB’s recorders laboratory for data download.
Below is the full NTSB preliminary report regarding the crash:
CBS 42 previously reported pilot March Gann, 63, was pronounced dead at the scene, while registered nurse Samuel Russell died at a hospital after the crash. Amanda Daniels was the sole survivor of the crash. The Life Saver 4 crew out of Sylacauga was attempting to transport a hiker who was experiencing a medical emergency.
