Goose found in flight controls of helicopter crash after three plunged to death

04 February 2024 , 09:39

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A dead animal was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma

A dead goose was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma, killing all three people on board.

According to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the bird strike could be responsible for the death of the pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic on the ill-fated flight. The report did not cite a suspected cause of the crash, but noted one goose was found in the helicopter’s flight control system and others were found in the debris field.

A report on the probable cause could take up to two years to complete, according to the NTSB. The helicopter crashed on January 20 in a pasture near Hydro, about 60 miles, 97 kilometers, west of Oklahoma City, as it was returning to Weatherford after taking a patient to an Oklahoma City hospital.

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The results of the report on the probable cause could take up to two years to be published

The pilot and both Air Evac Lifeteam crew members, a flight nurse and a paramedic, were all killed. It comes after a small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday. The crash set nearby homes on fire and led to three deaths, authorities say. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.

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Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said that the fatalities included people inside the plane and the mobile homes. Four properties caught fire in the Bayside Waters mobile home park, located near Tampa, Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department confirmed. The pilot was the only person on board, it was announced.

Mr Ehlers said: "Please understand that we are working through a very complicated scene. There's gonna be a lot of agencies that are here are gonna keep responding in to help coordinate in the investigation of actually what happened. The airport tower was able to get radio transmission from the pilot that he was having a 'mayday, mayday mayday,' and the aircraft went off the radar about 3 miles north of the runway."

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The deadly crash happened on January 20

Last month, a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Austin, Texas returned to South Florida after a bird strike. Southwest Flight 1416 took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International at 11:18 a.m., according to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24. It was scheduled to land in Austin at 1:14 p.m.

Fire Rescue said that shortly after 11:30 a.m. they were informed of the bird strike. A non-emergency was declared and fire crews were sent to the airport. The plane landed safely just before noon with fire crews on the tarmac as a precaution. The airline has not said where the bird struck or if there was any damage to the plane.

According to a statement from Southwest" "Our Pilots followed trained procedures and safely returned to Fort Lauderdale, where the aircraft taxied to a gate. To allow for further inspection, a separate aircraft will operate the flight to AUS. We apologize to our Customers for the inconvenience and we commend the swift, professional actions of our Flight Crew in response to the event."

Sam Elliott-Gibbs