New Mexico Helicopter Crash May Have Been Due To Gust Of Wind

A helicopter crash on the roof of a New Mexico trauma center left the three people aboard the aircraft injured, none of them seriously.

The pilot of the helicopter was reported to be in a “satisfactory condition.” and the other two crew members were under observation at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

Fortunately, no patients were aboard the chopper when it crashed just after taking off from the roof of the hospital on Wednesday. As the cause of the New Mexico helicopter crash wasn’t immediately clear the Federal Aviation Administration are initializing an investigation.

Eyewitnesses at the scene of the crash said they felt a strong gust of wind at about 5:45 pm and then immediately saw the PHI Air Medical helicopter wobble as it started to take off from the helipad on the roof of the six-story building.

The helicopter finally came to a standstill on its side with its damaged tail section hanging over the edge of the roof. A spokesman for the hospital, Billy Sparks, said about the helicopter crash: “They were taking off and had already dropped off their patient when it happened.”

Jonathan Goss told the Albuquerque Journal he was in his room near to the scene of the crash when he heard a loud screeching: “In the movies, when a helicopter starts spinning out of control. It sounded exactly like that.”

Eyewitnesses also reported that they saw a man rushing across the roof to the helicopter and dousing the flames just minutes before firefighters arrived on the scene.

Just as a precaution the fifth and sixth floors of the hospital were evacuated and authorities are working furiously to ascertain if any major structural damage was caused to the building.

It remains to be seen what did in fact cause the New Mexico helicopter crash which, thankfully, didn’t result in any deaths or serious injuries. The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.