(Landover, MD) – No one was injured, but a Maryland State Police helicopter was damaged last night while preparing to depart from a Prince George’s County hospital helipad after completing a medevac mission.
Just before 11:00 p.m. yesterday, the crew of “Trooper 2,” the Maryland State Police helicopter stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, was initiating lift-off procedures on the helipad at the Prince George’s Hospital Center in Landover. The initial investigation indicates that as the pilot was applying power to the helicopter engines to begin the lift-off, the tail of the aircraft lowered several inches and impacted a snow bank along the perimeter of the ground-based helipad. The helicopter was not airborne at the time of the accident. The crew immediately shut down the aircraft engines and inspected the helicopter.
Neither crew member was injured. No one else was on-board the aircraft. The tail section of the aircraft was damaged. The extent of the damage will not be known until further examination. No other property was damaged.
The crew of Trooper 2 had completed a medevac mission of two patients to the hospital. The patients had been involved in a traffic crash in southern Anne Arundel County. The patients had been off-loaded and were being treated inside the hospital when the accident occurred.
The helicopter crew included the pilot, Corporal Timothy N. Siebold, and flight paramedic, Sergeant Nathan H. Wheelock. Corporal Siebold is a 20-year |
