At 12:16 EDT, a Eurocopter BK117, operating as an air medical helicopter, collided with a radio transmission tower located on the Weedon Island State Preserve. The pilot and two passengers were killed. The helicopter had dropped off a patient at Bayfront Medical Center and was returning to St. Joseph Hospital in Tampa along a newly established route. The new routing was in response to noise complaints from neighborhoods along the previous route. A witness said the helicopter was flying at about 500 feet agl when it hit a guy wire and crashed.
April 25, St. Petersburg, Fla. / Eurocopter BK117
At 12:16 EDT, a Eurocopter BK117, operating as an air medical helicopter, collided with a radio transmission tower located on the Weedon Island State Preserve. The pilot and two passengers were killed. The helicopter had dropped off a patient at Bayfront Medical Center and was returning to St. Joseph Hospital in Tampa along a newly established route. The new routing was in response to noise complaints from neighborhoods along the previous route. A witness said the helicopter was flying at about 500 feet agl when it hit a guy wire and crashed....
Key Takeaways:
- An air medical helicopter (Eurocopter BK117) crashed at 12:16 EDT on Weedon Island State Preserve, killing the pilot and two passengers.
- The helicopter collided with a radio transmission tower's guy wire while flying at approximately 500 feet agl.
- The incident occurred as the helicopter was returning along a newly established route, implemented to mitigate noise complaints from residential areas.
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