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Posted on 01/23/2026 6:09:20 AM PST by billorites
A flight paramedic took the controls and attempted to land an air medical helicopter after the pilot became incapacitated during a return flight to base, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The accident happened on Nov. 8, 2025, near Lebanon, Tennessee, when an Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2 operated by Air Methods, doing business as Vanderbilt LifeFlight, crashed following an in-flight medical emergency involving the pilot.
The helicopter, callsign LifeFlight1, had departed from its base in Gallatin, Tennessee, on a Part 135 air medical mission when the request was canceled shortly after takeoff. As the aircraft turned back toward Gallatin, the pilot suddenly became unresponsive, prompting the flight paramedic to intervene and attempt to slow and land the helicopter. Pilot Became Unresponsive
According to the report, the helicopter departed Gallatin at about 1:34 p.m. local time in response to a launch request in Rutherford County. Three minutes later, the operator’s communications center, known as AIRCOM, advised the crew that the request had been canceled. ADS-B data showed the helicopter making a 180-degree turn back toward its base while flying at about 4,000 feet mean sea level.
At 1:39 p.m., AIRCOM received a radio call from LifeFlight1.
“Aircom…LF1…we have a medical emergency onboard with our pilot…uh we’re gonna…we will advise,” the transmission said.
No further transmissions were received.
In a post-accident interview, the flight paramedic told investigators that after acknowledging the cancellation and advising AIRCOM they were returning to base, he noticed the pilot fell silent and was not making any physical acknowledgments when spoken to, such as nodding or giving a thumbs-up.
The paramedic said the pilot’s expression appeared to be a “complete blank stare,” with eyes open but showing no emotion.
(Excerpt) Read more at avweb.com ...
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I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be of much use in a helicopter.
Almost ALL of these pilots were fully vaxxxxxxinated.
There are many incidents the last few tears of medical emergencies involving vaxxxxinated pilots, bus drivers etc.
Oh, I don’t know. I’ve spent some time riding in helicopters and seeing what the pilot does. How hard could it be?
“The flight nurse was killed, and both the pilot and flight paramedic were seriously injured.”
RIP
No word on what caused the pilot’s condition?
I have no doubt that if I had to take over flying a plane due to an incapacitated pilot, I could do it. I would need help navigating and landing, no doubt, but I could fly it and keep it in the air until someone could talk me down.
I went flying with a guy one time and he let me take the controls-it felt just as natural as could be to to fly the stick and rudder part. (I spent a huge amount of time flying flight simulators before that, so I felt wholly comfortable. If I HAD to, and I had plenty of fuel, I think I could find my way to the ground and land in some way, shape or form.)
A helicopter? I took an introductory flight lesson once, and I am doubtful I could land a helicopter even with someone knowledgeable talking me down. I sure as hell couldn’t hover the thing, I think that takes real practice and experience.
Sounds like he had a stroke.
Safe...and......effective 💀
That’s insane. Do what you have to do.
Have hope. Here's a video short of military pilots landing helicopters as you would a small fixed wing airplane.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fNlWH_78cfk
Almost unbelievable that anyone survived.
The pilot must have been suffering from a catastrophic stroke.
I’m assuming survivors, since the paramedic described the situation.
One of many reasons not to fly.
PERIOD.
😎
Helicopters fly like two completely different aircraft. In forward flight (at airspeeds beyond the onset of effective translational lift [ETL]), they fly pretty much like an airplane. Put any airplane pilot at the controls and as long as he doesn’t do anything abrupt or stupid, he could do okay.
But below ETL you’re at a hover, and hovering is a whole differrent kettle of fish. It’s like riding a unicycle on top of a beachball balanced on a tightrope. The effect of all three controls (collective pitch, cyclic pitch, and anti-torque pedals) is inter-related. Change one and you have to adjust the other two to compensate. You’re continually making tiny control inputs to all three controls (four, if you count the anti-torque pedals separately) in tiny fractions of a second.
This is why the first phase of helicopter flight training is always learning to hover. Because every (successful) flight begins and ends at a hover. Unless you’re making running take-offs and/or landings. And since most helicopter operations are conducted in places where you couldn’t fit a runway, running take-offs and landings sort of defeat that purpose. So hovering is an indespensible skill.
So you go out flying with an instructor pilot. He gives you tips as you’re trying, and he saves your bacon when you get the aircraft out of shape (and would wad it up, if he didn’t take the controls from you) but what’s really happening is you’re learning to let the seat of your pants communicate with your hands and feet without your brain slowing down the porocess.
It’s like learning to ride a bicycle. On minute you can’t quite get the hang of it. The next instant, you’ve got it under control, at least marginally. One second you did well to keep the aircraft in a 40-acre field, between 10 and 50 feet off the ground. The next, you’re relatively stationary over a spot on the ground. And the funny thing is, you don’t understand what changed.
When that instant comes, they call it “finding the ‘hover’ button.” And it takes some few hours of flight training to find that “button.” So the odds of an untrained pilot — even an experienced fixed fing pilot — performing a controlled landing on his first attempt are slim to none.
When I had my pilot training back in the 1970’s, several classmates were RN’s for medi-vac flights. They all were required to achieve their pilots license and stay current just in case. Back when real adults were running things. It caused a lot of candidates to drop out of the program. The ones that made it thru were awesome.
That only works if the heli has wheels, but many still use skids. Having flown the US Army’s Bell 47 (aka: OH-13 Sioux) you have to be able to coordinate using BOTH hands and feet to control it. I was so excited when I FINALLY soloed and taxied at 3-feet to the refuel point and set it down gentle-like. But, I was much younger then ;^).
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