AG-Schnozz replied to this:
> There are more but I'll stop here.
thusly:
I wish you'd tell more. Not all of us believe that it was star
alignment that got him through.
----------------------------------
So here's the short form. After striking the wires which ripped off the
rotors which in turn ripped off the tail rotor the helicopter fell 205
feet into the trees. Fortunately it went in backwards and the tail
crumpling and seat collapsing absorbed much of the impact. Had there
been anyone in the back seat they surely would have been killed. The
forest ranger suffered a broken arm, broken ribs and slightly punctured
lung. My son's major injury was a cut across the back of the head
extending from ear to ear and leaving his scalp mostly torn away and
bleeding profusely.
Despite being perhaps 10 miles from any form of civilization, the
helicopter's impact with the high voltage lines was actually seen by a
woman driving her van. She was using the dirt service road for the power
lines as a short cut between two other roads. She was able to direct
State Police drug agents (who had been in radio contact with the
helicopter and inexplicably lost it) directly to the scene of the
crash. Fortunate since the helicopter was 75 feet off the service road
and in heavy forest where it could not be seen. Getting to the scene
was delayed by the woman's van running backwards into the lead State
Police truck. The service road was very narrow and she had not been
able to turn around. To find help she was backing down the road and
around a curve when she met the three police trucks coming the other
way. Fortunately, no additional injuries there but her van and the lead
truck were damaged and had to be pushed off the road before the rescue
could continue.
Once at the scene they called for a rescue helicopter which is normally
based in Rochester and would have been about an hour away. It just so
happened that the rescue helicpoter had just dropped off a patient at
the hospital in Jamestown, NY and was only 15 miles away. The rescue
team could have chosen to go back to the Jamestown hospital but, after
assessing the severity of my son's injuries, they chose to fly to Erie,
PA instead where the hospital has a major trauma center. At the time
the radio call went into the Erie hospital the entire trauma team just
happened to be gathered in the same room to attend a seminar. By the
time the helicopter arrived they were all waiting for him on the roof
including the neurosurgeon.
The neurosurgeon told me later: "It's a good thing they got him here
when they did. He had lost about 500f his blood and would have been
dead in another 20-30 minutes."
I guess I mentioned the jet fuel and no fire. The helicopter had just
been refueled and was carrying about 98 gallons which spilled all over
the forest floor. My son had managed to switch off all the electrical
systems on the way down to the ground but does not remember doing it.
So, despite fuel all over, hot engine and live high voltage lines nearby
there was no fire. I have two pictures of the crash scene taken by a
reporter from the Jamestown Record. He said: "I only took two pictures
since I was standing ankle deep in jet fuel and wanted to get the hell
out of there."
So, there you have it. It was star alignment that pulled him through.
He was also carrying his lucky rabbit foot with silver fob which had
been carefully crafted from the tips of discarded silver-nose Zuiko
filter rings. But I jest. He's actually a very, very religious guy who
believes his survival was part of a higher plan.
Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
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