FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A medical rescue helicopter caught hearth and broke aside shortly after takeoff Monday earlier than crashing into an condo advanced close to Fort Lauderdale, killing a paramedic captain on board and a resident on the bottom, authorities stated.
Two others on board and two different individuals on the condo advanced had been injured.
Broward County Fire-Rescue Capt. Terryson Jackson, 49, and a girl died when the Broward Sheriff’s Office helicopter crashed by way of the advanced’s roof after taking off from Pompano Beach Airpark at about 8:45 a.m., Sheriff Gregory Tony stated. He stated the 4 injured had been taken to the hospital and are anticipated to outlive.
Jackson was a 19-year veteran of the division.
“Terryson was a rock star, he was one of the best of us,” stated Tony, who additionally oversees the county’s hearth division. “He bled this profession inside and out all day long.”
The injured firefighters are pilot Daron Roche, 37, and Mike Chaguaceda, 31.
The lifeless lady’s identify was not launched as her household was being notified, Tony stated.
The three-member crew was heading to an emergency medical rescue to take the affected person to the hospital. A video posted on-line reveals flames coming from the midsection of the helicopter as it’s trailed by an extended plume of smoke. The helicopter then seems to interrupt in half because it begins to spiral, plunging to the bottom. A video from one other angle confirmed that the helicopter’s blades weren’t turning quickly.
Tony stated that even because the crew members had been declaring a mayday to the airport’s management tower and attempting to avoid wasting their helicopter, they had been additionally radioing paramedics on the medical emergency to allow them to know they must take the affected person to the hospital.
“We are talking about the character of these men,” Tony stated. “As they were fighting for their lives, they were thinking about somebody else.”
Witness Brian Piggott instructed the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the helicopter started trailing smoke as quickly because it took off. It then misplaced altitude and crashed.
Victoria Walczak, who was contained in the condo constructing, stated the crash was louder than thunder.
“I thought a bomb went off,” she instructed the newspaper.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”