A rescue helicopter that was experiencing mechanical bother caught fireplace and crashed into an condo constructing in Pompano Beach, Fla., on Monday morning, killing two folks and injuring 4 others, the authorities mentioned.
The Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue helicopter was en route to supply medical help to a mom and daughter who had been a automotive crash in North Lauderdale when it began experiencing “mechanical issues” round 8:43 a.m. that led to a hearth on board, Sheriff Gregory Tony of Broward County mentioned at a news convention on Monday.
The three folks aboard tried to extinguish the fireplace, he mentioned, however encountered “additional mechanical issues” that despatched the helicopter crashing into an condo constructing southwest of the Pompano Beach airport.
Capt. Terryson Jackson, 50, of Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, who was on board the helicopter, died within the crash, the authorities mentioned. A girl who lived within the constructing was additionally killed. Her title was not instantly launched.
Four different folks had been injured, together with the pilot and a paramedic who was aboard the helicopter. Both managed to crawl from the wreckage to security and had been taken to Broward Health North hospital, the place they had been recovering from non-life threatening accidents, Sheriff Tony mentioned. The two civilians injured within the crash had been taken to the identical hospital, and had been listed in “fair condition,” the Sheriff’s Office mentioned.
“Terryson was a rock star,” Sheriff Tony mentioned on the news convention. “He was one of the best of us; one of the brightest. He bled this profession inside and out, all day long.” Even because the helicopter was failing, he added, Captain Jackson, a 19-year veteran of the division, and the others aboard, had the foresight to inform the native Fire Department that they’d not make it to North Lauderdale to help the mom and daughter.
“We are the only air force in this county,” the sheriff advised reporters, stressing the necessity for funding. “We have to have the necessary tools and equipment to be successful.”
A video posted on social media appeared to point out the helicopter’s tail snapping from its fuselage, sending the plane right into a fast tailspin because it descended on fireplace. The constructing it crashed into caught fireplace, Sheriff Tony mentioned on the news convention, including that his workplace was nonetheless “processing the scene.”
Earlier this month, three folks had been killed when a helicopter deployed to combat a wildfire in Southern California collided with one other helicopter and crashed. Before Monday’s crash, right here had been seven deadly plane incidents within the United States this month, in line with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Source: www.nytimes.com