Pilot Suffers Concussion : Life Flight Copter Involved in First Crash

A Life Flight helicopter crashed on Interstate 5 here early Friday morning, injuring the pilot, Dave Patrick, 37. The accident, which destroyed the $1-million helicopter, was the first since Life Flight service began at UC San Diego Medical Center in March, 1980.

Patrick, who suffered a concussion, was pulled from the wreckage and given first aid by passengers Dr. Phil Mathis, 36, and nurse Mary Anne Yorkoski, 28. Neither of them was seriously injured.

The medical evacuation helicopter--one of three used by the Life Flight program--crashed onto the freeway near the Genessee Avenue exit at 3:10 a.m., shortly after taking off from Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. The helicopter was beginning a return trip to UCSD Medical Center after transferring an unconscious woman from Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside.

Minutes before the crash, Patrick radioed Life Flight headquarters that the aircraft had lost power in one of its two engines, according to Life Flight mechanic Gary Jefford.

Yorkoski gave paramedics a similar account of the accident when they arrived on the scene, a spokesman for the San Diego County Fire Department said.

Life Flight officials said Friday that they would not speculate on the accident’s cause before the outcome of a federal investigation, scheduled to begin Monday.

Jim Wall, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board in Los Angeles, said it could be several months before the reason for the crash is determined.

The helicopter had reached a height of about 150 feet when it lost power, and was circling back toward the helipad at Scripps when it fell to the freeway, according to Life Flight coordinator Mary Cunanan.

Patrick was taken by ambulance to Scripps, where he was admitted in serious condition, Cunanan said. By Friday evening, he was semi-conscious and his condition had been upgraded to “fair,” hospital spokeswoman Diane Yohe said.

Patrick, a three-year Life Flight pilot who has logged more than 5,000 hours, is the leader of the program’s seven-pilot crew, Cunanan said.

The helicopter’s wreckage forced closure of the northbound side of the freeway for three hours but the debris was cleared in time to avoid major delays for morning commuters, according to California Highway Patrol officers.

Although the accident was the first in the six-year history of the Life Flight program, it was the 11th crash involving a medical evacuation helicopter in the nation in the past year, according to an NTSB official in Washington. A hospital helicopter crashed Dec. 10 in Adrian, Mich., killing two people and seriously injuring a third.

Although the accident has sullied Life Flight’s previously spotless safety record, it has not undermined confidence in the program or its helicopters, said Dr. William Baxt, Life Flight’s medical director.

“We’ve flown over 7,000 flights with only one accident. That’s an incredibly low number,” Baxt said, adding that the accident has not hurt morale among Life Flight’s 52 employees.

“People have been incredibly professional about it. They realize there is always this potential and you do the best you can and go on,” he said.

Typically, Life Flight only uses two of its three helicopters during the week, keeping the third craft on standby for weekends, Cunanan said.

Life Flight has ordered a replacement from Evergreen International Aviation, a Mirina, Ariz.-based firm that imports the helicopters from West Germany and leases them to the program, she said.

Representatives from Evergreen International who arrived in San Diego Friday to inspect the helicopter could not be reached for comment.