Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 23, 1994 TAG: 9404240008
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BLUEFIELD LENGTH: Medium
The helicopter crew had planned to pick up a patient from Bluefield Regional Medical Center when it crashed about 2:30 p.m., said Dick Heriot, chief operating officer for Air Care, a division of Bowman-Gray Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C. The helicopter flew out of Bowman-Gray.
Four members from the North Carolina Baptist Hospital Air Care Emergency Airlift Team were aboard. Authorities were not releasing their identities pending notification of relatives.
The Tazewell County Sheriff's Department said the helicopter was attempting to land at the Mercer County, W.Va., airport when it encountered fog. It crashed in a wooded area about 15 miles from the airport.
The man who was the last person to talk to the helicopter pilot before the crash said he did not say anything unusual.
``It was a surprise when he was lost. There was no indication that anything was wrong,'' said an FAA spokesman at the Bluefield Flight Service, who did not want to be identified.
The helicopter was about 10 miles from the Mercer County Airport when the pilot checked in to get information about the wind, altimeter settings and runways, the spokesman said.
``I gave them the weather. They were aware of it. Everything was what would be considered normal,'' he said.
At 2:45 p.m., the spokesman gave the helicopter an update on wind conditions.
``He just said `Roger,' which was not unusual,'' the spokesman said.
``Everything was fine. It was a normal approach, it appeared to be,'' he said.
At 2:49 p.m., the helicopter should have been on the ground and the spokesman tried to contact it again.
``I got no response at all from them. It was obviously too late,'' he said.
Visibility in the area was about two miles, the sky was overcast and there was light drizzle and fog, the spokesman said. It is possible for a helicopter to easily land in those conditions, the spokesman said.
He said it felt odd to have been the last one to talk to the pilot.
``The greatest emotion you have is sadness,'' he said. ``I hate to see it happen to anyone. One moment the person is fine and well and the next second they're gone.''
The twin-engine helicopter was on backup from Air Methodist Corp. International in Denver, Heriot said.
``The backup helicopter is identical to the one we use daily,'' Heriot said.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB