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NTSB Releases Details In Drexel Hill Medical Helicopter Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report detailing the events leading up to the Drexel Hill medical helicopter crash, nearly three weeks after launching an investigation into it.

Helicopter crash

Helicopter crash

Photo Credit: Joey Sheeran

All four people on board the Eurocopter EC135 that crashed outside of the Drexel Hill United Methodist Church on Jan. 11 survived, according to the FAA and Daily Voice sources. One of the occupants included a two-month-old baby.

A flight medic and nurse were out of their seats treating a patient when a loud "bang" was heard, and the helicopter "banked sharply right and continued into a right roll," according to the report released on Jan. 31.

The medic said that the helicopter rolled inverted and he and the nurse were "pinned to the ceiling" and internal communication was lost, the report reads.

Once the chopper was leveled out, the patient was secured and crew members braced for landing, according to the report.

All were able to self-extricate, but the pilot suffered the most serious injuries.

A self-proclaimed aviation enthusiast who lived close to the crash scene told investigators that his attention was on the helicopter because it was "very low and louder than normal," and that the "tone" of the rotors was unfamiliar, the report states.

The helicopter's last reported altitude before crashing was between 1,700 and 1,250 feet, according to the report.

The remainders of the helicopter were sent to a facility in Clayton, Delaware for further examination, the NTSB says.

A full investigation into the crash is still ongoing.

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