Eyewitness News staff and AP
CHESTERFIELD, Ind. - A medical helicopter crashed Thursday morning in a small town, clipping homes and trees and injuring the three people on board.
"Either the pilot did a very good job of flying or was extremely lucky," said Chesterfield Police Chief James Kimm.
The pilot, nurse and paramedic on board the PHI Air Medical helicopter when it crashed shortly before 2 a.m. had to be cut out of the wreckage, which was scattered over several back yards in the town of fewer than 3,000 people.
"When my officers arrived, the pilot was trying to get out of the aircraft, and when I arrived, the two people who were still in the aircraft were alert and talking," said Kimm.
All three on board were in serious condition at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, said Clarian Health Partners spokesman Jon Mills.
The crash site about 10 miles southwest of Muncie was a few blocks from Anderson Municipal Airport, where PHI's regional operation is based. The airport tower was closed at the time.
It was not immediately clear if the pilot had turned back to the airport, said airport manager Steve Darlington.
Witnesses said the aircraft tried to land on Indiana 32 and clipped the front porch of house, then rose briefly before twisting and crashing through a detached garage and landing behind the home, The Herald Bulletin reported.
No one was home at the time. The helicopter did not hit any phone or power lines, authorities said.
Ron Miller, 67, who lives next to the garage, said he heard a big boom but thought a transformer had blown. He said he had no idea what had happened until police and firefighters arrived. He said debris was on the roof of his home and a tree was destroyed.
"I guess I should have went out there with a flashlight, but I had really no idea what had happened," he said. "Who would think a helicopter would crash in their backyard?"
The weather was not good, with visibility about 2½ miles at the time of the crash, Darlington said. The pilot did not turn on the runway lights when he took off, he said.
The Associated Press left several messages seeking comment from PHI, a private air ambulance service with several bases in Indiana. PHI's national headquarters is in Lafayette, La.
The Federal Aviation Administration sent investigators to the crash site, said Todd Fox of the National Transportation Safety Board.
The company that operates the medical chopper, PHI, released the crews' names late Thursday afternoon. They are pilot Mark Bumstead, flight nurse Jennifer Stringfellow and paramedic Dan Kelly.
All three crew members are still in serious condition at Methodist Hospital. They were rushed there after first being taken to St. Johns Hospital in Kokomo.
Sources say medic Dan Kelly was hurt most seriously with a head injury. He underwent a CAT scan.
PHI has been operating in the Hoosier state for a year and a half.
The company has won numerous awards for safety and says its accident rate is well below the national average because of extensive training for pilots, medics and chopper mechanics.
