Our local air rescue team crashed on San Gabriel Canyon Road near the San Gabriel Dam. Thankfully all six people on board survived the ordeal and are reportedly in stable condition. They had a hard landing and rollover, coming within feet of sliding down the slope into the reservoir.
We wish them a speedy recovery!
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 9:48 am
by Gene
Thank goodness it didn't fall down the canyon, if not for that live oak and brush...
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 5:55 pm
by JeffH
Were they in the middle of a SAR event ?
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 7:28 pm
by Sean
JeffH wrote: ↑Were they in the middle of a SAR event ?
They were responding to a car crash patient whom they were going to airlift to the hospital.
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:18 pm
by dima
Glad nobody died. So what happens now? Do we just stop doing air rescues?
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 7:44 am
by Sean
I corrected a mistake in the OP. They crashed on San Gabriel Canyon Road, not the East Fork Road. And I have confirmed the exact turnout by matching aerial imagery with video of the crash site.
Based on the imagery, there is a berm and a signpost in that turnout. It looks like the signpost remains standing after the crash, and the helicopter appears to have fallen onto the berm.
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 8:02 pm
by AW~
Yeah, for them arm chair people..
"Do we just stop doing air rescues?"
For now...but no. No way.
If there were a termination it would be a cut in spending..but I think the sheriff has won the battle vs cuts, that LAPD lost.
He told them he would cut air5 and no one took him up on that...so...looks like we are all agreed on the popularity and usefulness of air5.
Re: Air Rescue 5 crashes!
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 3:39 pm
by muni_capt
dima wrote: ↑Glad nobody died. So what happens now? Do we just stop doing air rescues?
Good news is they were back in service with their other two additional Super Puma helos by the following Wednesday - indicating they knew what the cause of the "hard-landing" was and there was no need for an extensive hold on operations to figure out what went wrong. They are quite an asset in LA County, running between 500 and 700 rescues a year. In addition to hauling knucklehead motorcycle crashers off the crest they run multiple pediatric runs from the AV to hospitals in LA like Childrens since the AV does not have appropriate pediatric facilities. Add to that diver rescues from Catalina and law enforcement missions and they are really a one-stop-shop. They are definitely not just for SAR in the San Gabes.