Duck Crashed to Helicopter Windshield While Trauma Victim and Three Others Were in Flight
Thursday night in Gainsville, a flying helicopter which had four passengers almost went down to crash because of a duck that collided with it and shattered the windshield.
Thanks to the alertness and quick response of the calm pilot, Don Irving, the lives of the passengers were saved.
The pilot was on his way back to Shands at the University of Florida to transport a unnamed trauma patient. Flight nurse, Marc Kazmierski and flight paramedic Ryan Fulford were the only passengers of the medical transport helicopter involved in the accident.
Irving, at 58 years old has been flying helicopters for 35 years. He first hand on this career was with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and left off to be an EMS pilot since 2004.
The Shandscair helicopter was just about to land on the rooftop helipad around 8:10 in the evening when it collided with the duck. The helicopter at that time was at an altitude of 700 feet with speeds of 166 mph.
Irving was injured because of the debris to his face caused by the impact of the collision of the windshield and the duck. Despite having worn protective gear, still Irving was not able to avoid the injury to his eye.
The passenger crew reported to flight team coordinator, Jim Howard, that the collision had made a loud explosion.
Thanks to the quick clear thinking of Irving, he was able to communicate with the Shandscair dispatcher for emergency landing. He then was able to safely land at the nearby Shandscair helipad instead of the hospital roof.
The trauma patient was then sent to the hospital by ambulance. As for the rest of the crew, standard protocol for incidents similar to what happened suggested they all take the day off Friday.
Don Irving was declared a hero as per Shandscair medical director David Meurer interview. Irving was placed in the same shoes with Capt. Sully Sullenberger a hero declared just last month when he saved 155 passengers of a jetliner in Hudson River.
After the incident, the helicopter went through a thorough check on it just to be sure that the helicopter will pose no further threat after replacing the windshield.
The medical director further said in interview that in cases of emergencies similar to the incident, it pays to have very competent people who do their jobs well when you need it most.
The accident was speculated to have happened because it is migratory season for birds at this time of year.
After the necessary replacements, the helicopter should be up and running again in no time. The duck however, was dead on arrival.
