‘Absolute miracle’: No serious injuries after medical helicopter crashes on way to pediatric hospital
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on January 11, 2022
(UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP, Penn.) — A medical helicopter that crashed while transporting an infant to a Pennsylvania hospital Tuesday afternoon made a “miraculous landing,” with no serious injuries reported, authorities said.
The helicopter was traveling to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia when the accident occurred in Drexel Hill, a neighborhood in suburban Upper Darby Township, just a few miles from the hospital.
Police received reports of a helicopter in distress around 1 p.m., before locating the aircraft after it had crash landed next to a church.
All four people on board sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said. No residents were injured, and there was no debris from the crash.
“It’s an absolute miracle,” Upper Darby Township Police Department Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt told reporters at the scene.
Fire officials were concerned about the aircraft igniting and worked to contain the fuel.
“This was a miraculous landing,” Upper Darby Fire Chief Derick Sawyer told reporters.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
“Our team will cooperate fully with their efforts to assess the cause of this unfortunate accident,” Doug Flanders, vice president of communications for Air Methods, which owns the helicopter, said in a statement to ABC News.
The EC 135 aircraft was from the LifeNet program, based in Hagerstown, Maryland, according to Flanders.
The helicopter was transporting a pediatric patient from WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, a spokesperson for WellSpan Health confirmed to ABC News.
“Our hearts go out to family and crew on board and we are grateful that early reports indicate the patient and crew survived and that the patient was transported on to the planned hospital by ground transport,” WellSpan Health spokesperson Ryan Coyle said in a statement.
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