Crash of Brown County rescue helicopter kills pilot
Associated Press
Published April 13, 2006, 7:17 PM CDT
BELLEVUE, Wis. -- A Brown County rescue helicopter on a test flight experienced mechanical problems and crashed Thursday, killing the pilot, authorities said.
The victim was identified later Thursday by Interim Medical Examiner Al Klimek as James J. Vincent Jr., 46, of Menominee, Mich., the only person aboard the helicopter when it crashed about 10:30 a.m.
Tom Madigan, director of County Rescue Services Inc., said the helicopter was on a test maintenance flight when it experienced the mechanical trouble and came down outside the rescue headquarters building.
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter spin in circles before crashing down.
"I heard the thud when it hit the ground," said Paul Schiltz, who said he could see the helicopter plummeting from his nearby apartment.
Jerry Rhodes, who was driving in the area, said the helicopter spun toward some apartment buildings, hovered briefly over a field and then crashed. He said he saw a man stumble from the wreckage and keel over.
Connie Ashley, who works at a nearby office, said the helicopter didn't sound like they usually do when they fly over the area.
"The sound was all wrong. Then we heard a thump," she said, and when she walked outside she saw "a very destroyed helicopter -- just a big pile of metal."
Madigan called the incident "a tragedy of monumental proportions."
He said the 1987 American Eurocopter BO-105, one of two helicopters in the agency's air ambulance program, had 4,800 hours on its airframe and had been serviced on March 22 and April 12.
Madigan said the air ambulance service would continue operating while the cause of the accident is investigated.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Administration were expected to investigate.
