Four People Injured When Medical Helicopter Makes Crash Landing Near Cromwell

A medical helicopter made a hard landing near the Seminole Airport Wednesday afternoon after experiencing engine failure.

Wednesday, January 2nd 2013, 2:43 pm



An Oklahoma Medical Helicopter made a crash landing, injuring all four people on board.

The flight crew was headed to Okemah to pick up a patient. They hadn't been up in the air for more than five minutes before slamming in to the ground.

"There was a lot of choking, cutting and sputtering sound to it," said Seminole County resident Tina Dickenson.

What started as a regular Wednesday afternoon turned into a rescue mission for Dickenson. She watched as this Mediflight helicopter crashed into the open field behind her home.

"It wasn't like on TV, when you see them and they hit and they explode. It wasn't anything like that, but I did see it actually fall and hit the ground, it kind of skidded a little bit," Dickenson said.

Tina took off, running roughly 500 yards to the crash site. She said she called 911 and prayed every step of the way.

"My first reaction, thought and everything was, ‘Dear God, please let everybody be alive, don't let anybody be dead, let everybody be OK,'" Dickenson said.

Her prayers were answered.

"One of them was like, ‘Where's my buddies, are they okay, is everybody alive?'" she said.

All four men on board - a nurse, two paramedics and the pilot - were alive and alert.

"They were all just kind of stationary, they didn't do a lot of moving, but they were all talking and very much thankful that they were alive," Dickenson said.

Because the chopper fell miles outside of town, it took some time for help to arrive.

And while they waited, Tina, her mom and a neighbor did what they could to comfort a group of guys who are known for helping others.

"We were trying to find some sheets to cover them to keep them warm and help them stay still," Dickenson said. "I thank God that I was at least able to offer them a little bit of comfort, even if I couldn't offer anything medically for them."

All four aboard were taken by other medical helicopters to Oklahoma City.

The victim's names and conditions have not been released. OHP says the helicopter engine failed.

FAA and NTSB investigators are looking into what caused the crash.

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