Medical copter carrying infant crashes, but all survive in ‘miracle,’ PA officials say

Four people survived, including an infant patient, after a medical helicopter crashed just outside Philadelphia, according to media reports.

The helicopter was traveling on Tuesday, Jan. 11 from Maryland to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia when it crashed beside Drexel Hill United Methodist Church, according to KYW. The crash site is about seven miles from the hospital.

The pilot, co-pilot, nurse and infant on board the aircraft all survived, NBC News reported. Tim Bernhardt, the Upper Darby police superintendent, referred to it as “an absolute miracle.”

“I can’t wait to meet this gentleman and shake his hand for getting this (helicopter down) the way he did,” Bernhardt said of the pilot, according to WPVI.

The crew members suffered “non-life threatening injuries” and removed themselves from the aircraft, WTXF reported. The infant patient was rerouted to the nearby children’s hospital, while the three crew members were taken to Lankenau Medical Center, according to WPVI.

It wasn’t immediately known what caused the crash.

“We have no information on how the crash occurred, but I will tell you that he did a great job of landing that helicopter without taking any telephone poles down, damaging any structures, and again no loss of life,” Derrick Sawyer, chief of Upper Darby Township Fire Department, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, the Inquirer reported.

This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Medical copter carrying infant crashes, but all survive in ‘miracle,’ PA officials say."