Two people were killed and at least four others were injured on Monday when an emergency response helicopter lost control, crashing into a Pompano Beach, Florida apartment building. The accident happened shortly before 9 a.m. EDT when a sheriff's department Airbus fire and rescue helicopter went down just south of the Pompano Beach Airpark, home of the Goodyear Blimp.
There were three people aboard the Eurocopter EC135 helicopter, according to initial FAA reports. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony told reporters that one person who was on the ground, as well as Capt. Terryson Jackson of the Sheriff's Department, were killed in the crash. The sheriff said the two injured crew members were able to crawl out of the helicopter's wreckage and did not appear to suffer life-threatening injuries. The two surviving members of the helicopter crew, as well as two civilians on the ground, were transported to North Broward Medical Center. Capt. Jackson, 49, was an experienced and valued member of sheriff's department, Sheriff Tony said, adding: "He was one of my firefighters. We lost one of our captains today who was onboard serving his community, hoping that he would get a chance to do what he does best which is to land and extract somebody else. Unfortunately, in the crash he was trapped, could not get out, and we lost him."
The rescue chopper was answering an emergency call from North Lauderdale when it developed "mechanical issues" and crashed, according to preliminary assessments. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office, Veda Coleman-Wright, said during a news conference at the scene that the helicopter was en route to a scene in North Lauderdale to pick up a woman who had been involved in a crash, and that a fire broke out onboard and then other mechanical issues occurred.
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