Could They Have Contributed To Deadly Medical Helo
Incident?
The body of Joseph Schaffer, pilot of an EC-135 medical helo
that went down in the Potomac River near Washington, DC, Monday
night, has now been recovered. Schaffer, a 30-year flight veteran,
was still strapped in his seat, underwater approximately 40 feet
from the crash site. He was found by rescuers and a cadaver
dog.
The body of Nicole Kielar, a 29-year old flight paramedic, was
recovered early Tuesday. The flight nurse, Jonathan Godfrey, was
found clinging to the tail boom, which had separated from the
aircraft in the accident.
"He said they hit something," said Alexandria, VA, firefighter
Tom Wheatley in an interview with the Washington Post. "They didn't
know what it was."
Wheatley and his fellow rescuers found the operation emotionally
draining. "Here these people are saving lives all the time," he
told the Post, his voice choked with emotion. "And now it's our
turn to save theirs."
But what did the EC-135, which had just dropped off a patient,
hit, if anything at all? The aircraft went down close to the
Woodrow Wilson Bridge at the southern tip of DC. The bridge is
being rebuilt and there are several tall construction cranes in the
vicinity. The NTSB has spent much of this week looking at those
cranes for signs of possible impact and, late Thursday, released
this statement:
Today, investigators from the National Transportation Safety
Board inspected the fifth (and tallest) of the five cranes along
the Potomac River near the Wilson Bridge construction project. No
structural damage or obvious aircraft strike indications were found
on this crane, or the four other cranes that were inspected
yesterday.
Investigators also revisited the accident site, and the sites
along the Potomac River that matched the coordinates recorded by
air traffic control radar and the operator's flight-following
global positioning system (GPS). The projected track along these
locations toward the accident site is about 300 feet from the
nearest crane.
Investigators interviewed the surviving crewmember of the
accident helicopter yesterday. The survivor told investigators that
he did not recall seeing or hearing any cockpit warning indications
during the flight, nor did he recall any abrupt maneuvers or sudden
pilot reactions as they flew over the bridge. The survivor
remembered flying over the bridge at one instant and then being in
the water the next instant. When asked what he thought may have
happened, he responded, "my instincts tell me that we hit
something."
An initial examination of the wreckage has been completed, and
no obvious pre-impact mechanical malfunctions were noted. The
wreckage will be carefully cleaned and laid out tomorrow for a more
detailed examination of its nose, cabin area, skids, and rotor
blades.
Investigators at the NTSB's video laboratory are continuing
attempts to enhance the bridge traffic video recording that shows
an aircraft crossing the bridge (below)about the time of the
accident. Investigators will attempt to obtain aircraft performance
information from the video, including the helicopter's exact
altitude and position relative to the bridge.
FAA Preliminary Accident Report
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 136LN Make/Model: EC35
Description: EC-135
Date: 01/10/2005 Time: 1104
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City:
WASHINGTON State:
DC Country: US
DESCRIPTION
HELICOPTER, A EUROCOPTER CRASHED INTO THE POTOMAC RIVER, JUST
SOUTH OF THE
WOODROW WILSON BRIDGE. ACFT HAD JUST DROPPED OFF A PATIENT AT
WASHINGTON
HOSPITAL CENTER. TWO ARE REPORTED FATAL AND ONE SERIOUS, AND
THE ACFT IS
DESTROYED. WASHINGTON, DC
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
# Crew:
3 Fat: 2 Ser: 1
Min: 0 Unk: 0
# Pass:
0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0
Min: 0 Unk: 0
#
Grnd: Fat: 0
Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 0
WEATHER: NOT
REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Activity: Air Ambulance Phase: Cruise
Operation: General Aviation
Departed: WASHINGTON,
DC Dep Date: 01/10/2005
Dep. Time:
Destination: FREDERICKSBURG, VA Flt Plan:
NONE Wx Briefing: U
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: WASHINGTON IAD, DC
(EA27) Entry date: 01/11/2005 #