“Their usual chopper is in the shop for an upgrade. This one was a loaner.”
Oh, bummer. I wonder if this is going to turn out to be a case of pilot unfamiliarity?
Like when my SUV was in the shop and for two weeks I was driving a rented Prius. If I had been operating in three dimensions it would have been dicey at first.
A guy on another building looks out on the heliport. He said the chopper landed, and the pilot came out and looked around the craft with a flashlight. Then took off after only the check and a few minutes on the ground, and then crashed.
The guy burned in the car is reported to have 20% or less burns, some deep will require surgery, but is expected to survive.
I hope not. The controls on the A-Star are backwards from a normal chopper. Silly French.