A medical helicopter rests next to the Drexel Hill United Methodist Church after it crashed in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby, Pa., on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. Authorities and a witness say a pilot crash landed a medical helicopter without casualties in a residential area of suburban Philadelphia, miraculously avoiding a web of power lines and buildings as the aircraft fluttered, hit the street and slid into bushes outside a church.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
By Claudia Lauer and Thalia Beaty
A pilot crash-landed a medical helicopter Tuesday without loss of life in a residential area of suburban Philadelphia, somehow avoiding a web of power lines and buildings as the aircraft fluttered, hit the street and slid into bushes outside a church, authorities and witnesses said.
It was a “miracle” that none of the four people aboard, including an infant patient, suffered life-threatening injuries, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy M. Bernhardt said.
Rescue crews rushed to the wreckage by the Drexel Hill United Methodist Church in Upper Darby at about 1 p.m. and helped get the pilot, two crew members and the infant out of the aircraft, Bernhardt said at a press conference.
The infant was taken to a hospital as authorities worked to notify the child's family, Bernhardt said.
The aircraft had taken off from out of state. It's believed to have encountered mechanical problems during the flight, said a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesperson, citing reports from county officials.
At the crash site, a stop sign on the corner was cleaved into two and had apparently been hit by the helicopter when it came down. The aircraft was on its side in two pieces, just outside the stone church.
“It’s a miracle, it’s an absolute miracle, here what you see behind me," Bernhardt said, adding that he's eager to shake the pilot’s hand for getting the helicopter down the way they did.
A witness, Joshua James, said he was driving nearby with his wife and young son when he saw the tail of the helicopter swaying back and forth as it slid to a stop. He put his car in reverse.
“It makes no sense to me that it didn’t hit any of the wires or anything — that it didn’t hit us,” James said.
Jerrell Saunders, 28, said he had been walking from his work in maintenance at an apartment building nearby when he saw the helicopter “just floating, like real low, like extremely low, like it could land on the building that I work at.”
He got in his car to go to the hardware store and the helicopter was going in the same direction. He said he saw it hit the ground in the middle of the road and slide across the ground until it crashed.
“I guess the pilot tried to land in a safe area, because it took a bounce on the ground and fell and, like, slid,” Saunders said.
The helicopter turned on its side and, as smoke was coming out, he saw people jumping out of the helicopter.
“I’m telling my grandkids about this one,” he said.
A fire official said the helicopter had about an hour’s worth of fuel left at the time of the crash, and crews took steps to keep leaking fuel from contaminating groundwater.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC135 medical helicopter and that the agency was investigating, along with the National Transportation Safety Board.
A spokesman for Air Methods, the air medical emergency transport service that owns the helicopter, said it was part of the LifeNet program based in Hagerstown, Maryland. Federal agencies were investigating.
“Our team will cooperate fully with their efforts to assess the cause of this unfortunate accident,” said Air Methods spokesman Doug Flanders.
Earlier this month, New York City experienced one of the deadliest fires it has seen in decades. 17 people lost their lives in the Fordham section of the Bronx. This was due to a faulty space heater which reportedly began on the lower floor of the 120 unit building. Thanks to the F. D. N. Y. And heroic neighbors, many were able to get out in time. Unfortunately, the toxic smoke surged upwards through a safety door. Now, many advocates say negligence by policymakers and landlords has led to the deaths in black and brown communities from fires that honestly could have been preventable. Legislative Director of Citizen Action of New York, Rebecca Garrard, and the Chair of Journalism and New Media Studies at St. Joseph's College Theodore Hamm, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Revenue operations platform Clari recently raised $225 million in a Series F financing round led by Blackstone, bringing the company's valuation to more than $2.6 billion. Calri says more than 450 companies from around the world use its A.I.-powered platform to make their revenue operations more connected, efficient, and predictable. Clari CEO Andy Byrne joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
With so many nutrition apps, social media influencers, and diet trends, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to getting healthy. Christina Jax, registered dietitian, nutritionist and health advisor, at the nutrition app LifeSum, says diets shouldn't be just about weight management. She joined Cheddar to give some tips on how to approach health and wellness in a holistic way.
Like countless cities, Las Vegas turned into a ghost town when Covid hit, shutting down casinos, nightclubs, restaurants, and everything else that keeps its economy running. But Sin City has surged back to life, as many bachelorettes and bachelors flock there to celebrate their last months as singles. Travel expert Lee Abbamonte gives an update on the state of the travel industry two years into the pandemic, including how Vegas has lured tourists back to the crowded city.
As controversy dogs the run-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China is hiring TikTokers and other social media influencers to promote the nation's history, culture, diplomatic efforts, and current trends.
Talent Resources Sports is partnering with ABG Entertainment to host Sports Illustrated The Party during the weekend of Super Bowl LVI, featuring musical performances by Kygo, Jack Harlow, and other guests. David Spencer and Mike Heller, co-CEOs and founders of Talent Resources Sports, joined Cheddar to discuss the details behind putting on the event. “We’re just really pumped that after all of the things that got canceled people will finally have a place to let some steam off in such an exciting moment, such a charged moment with the Super Bowl,” Mike Heller said about putting on the live event after previous COVID-related cancellations.
Coming off of a horrible week for Peloton on the stock market, another character from a TV series died after riding the stationary bike. Mike Wagner on "Billions" was the latest fictional tragedy, just a month after "Mr. Big" suffered a similar fate on the "Sex and the City" reboot "And Just Like That." Peloton tweeted it had not worked with the Showtime series on the episode.
