It was only a few days ago that one of United States’ medical flight ended in a tragedy. Now, it has emerged that the medical flight “glitch” that occurred in Tofino, Canada, last month had all the possibilities of having similar fate. It is believed that there were no adverse weather conditions, although it was night and the mission was carried out sometime after about 1 a.m. It was a Sikorsky S76C that belonged to Helijet medical flight company.
What Actually Went Wrong with the Medical Flight?
It was reported that there were some “excursions” below 600 feet and rapid descent at the rate of a whopping 250 feet within a very short duration, which can be fatal. The medical flight had two paramedics and two pilots onboard. After a short time in the air, the medical flight was found losing control; however, it soon recovered and headed to the Tofino Airport, where it reportedly had a “rough” landing.
Although the investigation pertaining to the event is still on, initial reports suggest that the medical flight had dropped at a speed of anywhere between 36-44 km per hour. Instead of landing on the usual illuminated part of the airport during the night, the medical flight had landed in a different spot, in a rather turbulent landing.
The paramedics reported that they were tossed around inside the medical flight and were quite shaken by the incident, although they’ve now resumed work.
The Technical Details of the Medical Fight Mishap
For reasons that are not yet clear, the rotor speed had dropped suddenly, putting the medical flight in a spin. It was reported that the emergency power was then applied, which allowed the medical flight to recover. However, the entire incident caused the flight stabilization system to malfunction. The pilots were reportedly fired after the incident, although there is no confirmation on this.
The medical flight was scheduled to shift a stroke patient which was deferred to the next morning, without any eventuality.
