Monday, May 08, 2000
Accident limits Air Care flights
Other services will cover the Tristate
By Tom O'Neill
The Cincinnati Enquirer
University Hospital's Air Care emergency helicopter fleet was grounded Sunday as federal aviation investigators try to determine what made a helicopter crash-land after losing control of its tail rotor.
An Air Care helicopter sits on University Hospital's helipad Sunday, grounded because of an accident Saturday night.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
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Only the pilot, John Robinson, was aboard the BK117 Saturday night when a mechanical problem occurred as he approached about 50 to 100 feet above the helipad on the roof of University Hospital, said Air Care Director Dudley Smith.
Mr. Robinson, 52, was treated for minor injuriesand released three hours after the 11:56 p.m. incident, University Hospital spokeswoman Erika Taylor said. Damage to the craft was estimated by Cincinnati fire officials at $500,000.
The pilot was returning from refueling at Lunken Airport. A small fuel leak on the helipad was contained.
Air Care's two other helicopters stationed at University were grounded because the helipad is closed as an accident site.
Air Care celebrated its 15th anniversary at University in November and has never had a grounding because of a crash, Mr. Smith said.
Emergency helicopter services in Louisville, Lex ington, Indianapolis and Dayton, Ohio — with which Air Care has mutual assistance agreements — are available to handle calls to Cincinnati hospitals.
Landing facilities are available at Children's Hospital Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital and Christ Hospital, from which patients can be driven to University.
But because the closest
service is 50 miles north at Dayton's Miami Valley Hospital, “You always have that concern that response might be slower,” Mr. Smith said. “But they're used to having times when we can't just be there.”
Helicopter calls Sunday included three for cardiac emergencies and two for vehicle crashes.
Care Flight, out of Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, handled all five calls through Sunday afternoon, including one for a state police officer in Clermont County involved in an accident who was transported to Children's Hospital Medical Center's helipad, then driven the few blocks to University.
Air Care, which is grounded periodically by weather, averages about five flights per day and has a response radius of 150 miles, though most calls are within 60 miles of Cincinnati, Mr. Smith said.
The pilot lost power to the tail rotor, sending the helicopter into a downward swirl. It is not known what caused the loss of power.
When the helicopter belly-flopped on the helipad, its skids — or legs — broke off. The structure that connects the cabin to the tail was bent.
“We're not sure exactly when we'll be up in service,” Mr. Smith said, “probably no sooner than Monday.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has handed off the investigation to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has the authority to allow the Air Care crafts to return to work.
The problem is, the NTSB had yet to arrive as of late Sunday, and Mr. Smith said the agency might not arrive until today or Tuesday.
The helicopter has been in the Air Care fleet for two years, Mr. Smith said, and has had no mechanical problems. He said the fleet is inspected daily.
“Nothing showed up in (Saturday's) inspection,” Mr. Smith said. “People need to understand these are very complicated machines.”
The BK117 is manufactured by American Eurocopter and owned and maintained by Lafayette, La.-based Petroleum Helicopter Inc. (PHI). PHI officials were in Cincinnati investigating Sunday but unavailable for comment. The helicopter that crashed is about 10 years old, Mr. Smith said.
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