That's good he's recovering, though I'm sorry to hear he ended up in Iraq.
John Hermanson
Camtech Photo Services, Inc.
21 South Lane, Huntington, NY, 11743-4714,
631-424-2121, www.zuiko.com
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Norcutt" <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus mail list" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 11:14 AM
Subject: [OM] [OT] Another update on the helicopter pilot
> After I submitted my TOPE entry Olaf wrote back and asked about my son.
> Those of you who have been around here for a long time will remember
> that he came very close to death after flying his helicopter into high
> voltage transmission lines. Despite plunging 205 feet to the ground he
> survived... but only just barely. His surgeons said he had lost more
> than half of his blood and was about 20 minutes away from dying when he
> was airlifted to the emergency room. Here's what has happened since as
> I related it to Olaf.
> --------------------------
>
> Amazingly, it has now been 4 years since his helicopter crash. After
> about 18 months off work for recovery from the accident he was finally
> obligated to go to the FAA (US Federal Aviation Authority) to see if
> they would re-issue his flight license. Since he still had some
> ocassional (1 or 2 per day) and brief (2-3 seconds) instances of vertigo
> the FAA would not return his license unless he was certified as 100
> percent symptom free for a minimum of one year.
>
> The New York State Police then hired a doctor that certified (without
> ever examining him) that he could return to duty as a road patrol
> officer along with a major reduction in pay and rank. He was not happy
> but did this for quite some time until his neurosurgeon discovered what
> had happened and became irate with the police.
>
> The neurosurgeon testified that Scott had suffered some unknown degree
> of brain damage and that any other trauma to the head would have unknown
> effects and could easily kill him. Working as a road patrol officer he
> would eventually likely get into scuffles with arrestees which might
> easily prove fatal. Ultimately, after a lot of legal hassling and
> wrangling and calling in of arbiters, the State Police were obliged to
> place him on medical disability retirement. Then, after a lot of other
> legal hassling and wrangling they were obliged to reinstate his rank and
> pay as a pilot for purposes of computing his retirement income. (Which
> doesn't actually exist but more on that later)
>
> Meanwhile, since he was also a New York Army National Guard captain and
> helicopter pilot the army sent him off to Fort Rucker Alabama to be
> examined by army flight surgeons there. After a lot of testing and
> deliberation the army decided that he was still suited for flight
> status. The major difference between the army and FAA here is that the
> State Police fly with a single pilot. The army always flies helicopters
> with two pilots. Therefore, the army considered that his brief bouts of
> vertigo were not important since a second pilot could take over if it
> ever became necessary. He has since put in a fair number of hours on
> simultors and as command pilot on real helicopters without incident.
>
> After being told that he would be placed on medical disability
> retirement (and being then not yet 40) he began looking for another job
> and eventually was offered a position as a training coordinator for the
> post 9/11 TSA (Transportation Security Administration). He was made
> responsible for the training coordination of several hundred luggage
> inspectors at three different airports.
>
> However, this didn't last very long before the Army National Guard
> promoted him to major, sent him back to Fort Rucker for extensive
> training in helicopter logistics planning and support and then packed
> him off to Iraq for a year. That's where he is now and working his butt
> off but is not on flight status at the moment since he's never been
> trained on a Blackhawk. These days he's riding only as a passenger.
> They fly low and fast to avoid ground fire and he gets very nervous near
> power lines when he's not in control.
>
> We're hoping he'll be back within a few months and hope his job with the
> TSA will still be there for him. Since the TSA job pays a little more
> than the State Police disability retirement income, the state doesn't
> actually have to pay him anything until he has passed what would have
> been the 20 years of service date. That's not so far away so he will
> soon have that as additional income.
>
> So, in a nutshell he's doing OK and hoping soon to resume a more normal
> life. The insurgent rocket and mortar attacks are fairly ineffective
> but disconcerting nevertheless.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
>
>
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