Dave Repsher, formerly a nurse with Flight For Life, loved an active lifestyle. He had a passion for outdoor adventure activities since a very young age. This attitude is perhaps what had nudged him to become a career medical flight nurse. However, fate had something traumatic in store for him. The day was July 3 of 2015 and there was nothing special about the day. The weather was great and there was a smooth breeze making the rounds, adding to the beauty of the day. The time was around 1:30 pm and the flight crew that comprised of the pilot, Pat Mahany; flight nurse, Matt Bowe other than Dave Repsher himself, was heading to a nonemergency event nearby. They were going to meet the local boy scouts.
The Fateful Medical Flight Takes Off
Even as the medical flight took off, recalls Dave, that nothing out of the ordinary was observed. It was only once the helicopter was about 100 feet above the ground that trouble started brewing. The chopper was spinning in an anticlockwise direction suddenly and the pilot, Pat, seemed to be able to do little about it, although he was trying hard. It only took slightly over 30 seconds for the medical flight to come crashing down. Matt, unfortunately, lost his life in this accident. His death was attributed to blunt force trauma.
After the Medical Flight Crash
Dave recalls the time when the medical flight hit the ground. He felt as if gallons of cold liquid were thrown on him. A little disoriented at the time, he could not immediately make out what it was. The fact was that the fuel tank of the chopper had ruptured and the gasoline had covered his flight suit. It did not take long for this fuel to catch fire and along with it, Dave. The injury that Dave had suffered was grave.
Dave, however, has always remained a fighter. Today, after extensive physical and psychological counselling, he is back. He even went on to say that given a chance he would be a career medical flight professional again.
