Transplant on Hold After Chopper Crash That Killed Doctors
- Posted on December 27, 2011 at 7:34am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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MIAMI (AP) — Three people were killed when a helicopter on its way to retrieve a heart for transplant crashed in northern Florida, leaving the patient to wait for another organ to become available.
Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Russ Burke told the Florida Times-Union the helicopter left the St. Augustine airport around 5:45 a.m. Monday. It crashed about 45 miles south of Jacksonville at 5:53 a.m., according to Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
Bergen told the Gainesville Sun no flight plan was filed for the helicopter, which was headed to Gainesville hospital, Shands at the University of Florida.
The helicopter was carrying heart surgeon Dr. Luis Bonilla and procurement technician David Hines of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Sheriff’s officials say the name of the pilot has not been released.
Mayo Clinic spokesman Layne Smith said the heart they were to pick up could not be used in another transplant because its viability expired. He said the patient is back on the waiting list for a new organ.
Bergen said the helicopter went down about 12 miles northeast of Palatka, which is about 40 miles east of Gainesville.
The wreckage, which was in remote, densely forested area, was spotted around noon Monday by another helicopter, Burke said. Debris was scattered around the crash site, which was hidden from the road by rows of pine trees.
Officials with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville reported there was light fog with overcast conditions in the area but no rain.
“As we mourn this tragic event, we will remember the selfless and intense dedication they brought to making a difference in the lives of our patients,” John Noseworthy, Mayo Clinic president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We recognize the commitment transplant teams make every day in helping patients at Mayo Clinic and beyond. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.”
FAA records show the Bell 206 helicopter is operated by SK Jets. The St. Augustine company released a statement: “The focus of our efforts at this time is to attend to the needs of our passengers, crew and their families and work with the NTSB and local public safety officials to determine the cause and extent of the accident.”
Gary Robb, a Kansas City aviation attorney specializing in helicopter safety, said SK Jets is known as a careful and safe operator in the industry. The small, lightweight craft has low weight and speed capabilities and is primarily used by traffic reporters or police departments, Robb said.
“It’s not usually used in donor flights,” he said.
“If you’re on a mission where time is sensitive, why use an engine that is low performance?” Robb said, adding that the helicopter has a cramped cabin.
An NTSB investigator will scour the crash site for clues and look into the pilot’s experience and any factors that might have impaired the pilot, any environmental factors such as birds or low visibility that may have contributed to the crash, and any mechanical problems with the helicopter, he said.
The Bell 206 usually has an older engine no longer installed in new models, Robb said.
“We’ve seen a number of instances where that engine simply failed,” Robb said.
The crash and others like it illustrate the delicate nature of transporting organs.
In 1990, a surgeon and an assistant flying to pick up a donor heart for a patient were killed in a plane crash in New Mexico. And in 2007, a twin-engine plane carrying a team of surgeons and technicians – along with a set of lungs on ice being brought to a patient already prepped for surgery – crashed into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan. Six were killed.
Doctors ultimately got another set of donor lungs that were transplanted into the patient.
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Seagal45
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 2:33pmWhat a horrible tragety for all of those involved. My prayers go out to all the families.
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 5:06pmAmen. God bless their families.
Report Post »Captain Morgan
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:37amI flew air ambulance, and I flew surgeons in to recover organs for a couple of years in old Lear Jets in my early career. People never seemed to get hurt in the day time and in good weather, and it was always risky duty having done it in the Rocky Mountains where we flew old junky planes down to minimums in bad weather into short strips surrounded by very large mountains. But I did help save many lives by doing it. There is always pressure to do things, and fly questionable things, and cut corners that you normally would not do in normal situations with time, and being young and dumb I did cut a few corners to save precious time that I look back on now and think “that was really stupid of me.” I am not saying that was done here, but the statistics for fatalities on air ambulance flights are considerably higher than almost any other commercial aviation, because of the conditions and pressures that exist to complete the flight in very time critical manner. Speaking from my own experience, the pilots can get mission focused, and can lose perspective on what may be the safest options available. Through my personal experience I give this as a possible contributing factor to this crash. My heart felt prayers go out to the families of all lost
Report Post »Bua
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:06amHelicopters have extremely complex rotor heads that are highly stressed and subjected to forces that fatigue them due to the very nature of their design which is required for helicopter flight. As such they are much more dependant upon careful reliable scrutiny during manufacture and faithful replacement based upon hours in service than parts of standard aircraft of which none are subjected to such forces and, additionally, no single one is capable of causing a crash should it happen to fail.
Report Post »Dustoff
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:19amThat‘s why helo’s have TBO’s.
Report Post »calijohn
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 1:20amyou’re full of it
Report Post »OldVietVet
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:36amI personally have lost 3 friends in helicopter crashes and would rather walk than fly in one!
Report Post »Dustoff
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:20amI fly (lifefight) most every day. Never once went down. I crashed twice while in the service.
Report Post »bcope01
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:59amI flew slicks in Nam. Helicopters saved many more lives than they took. I’ll bet there are lots of OLDVIETVETs that owe their lives to helicopters.
Report Post »RugDog
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 8:43amI’d rather walk than fly in one of those contraptions.
Report Post »RRFlyer
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:13amI flew helicopters for 40 years and 18,000 hours and I’m still here
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:28amAuto rotate.
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 8:12amHow dispicable for Gary Robb to use this tragedy to troll for clients by laying not-so-subtle hints that it was the wrong chopper for the job, with old engines. Disgusting!
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 8:33amAnd he worst part is, he thinks the general public is so dumb as to not see that he’s trolling for an easy client.
Our company was once at the tail end of a large suit we’d filed agauinst a manufacturer. Our attorney specialized in plane crashes. A week before we were to go to trial a Continental Airlines commuter crashed, and our attorney fairly begged for us to let him get a continuance on our trial so that he could run and grab the easy money on the plane crash.
Slimeball attorneys.
Report Post »ThePostman
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 7:54amSo sad.
But shouldn’t Obama ban the manufacturing of all helicopters (and all heart transplants) until we can find out who’s ass to kick? Maybe the pilot acted stupidly (if it turns out he was white).
Report Post »nichevo
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 1:10pmYou are such a moron Postal. How are going to emotionally survive President Obamas 2nd term?
Report Post »GeneTracy
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 7:46amA truly heartbreaking story all the way around.
Report Post »conservativeblackman
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 7:39amCould they not give the transplant patient one of the hearts of the crash victims. Hey, the lord works in mysterious ways!
Report Post »texasfireguy
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:07amI doubt if the organs are in good enough condition for transplant. Plus there are issues of cell degeneration when the organs go without O2. Organ transplant is a delicate procedure, from start to finish. I have worked aircraft crashes and I am sure there isn’t much left to identify.
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