Hospital helicopter crashes into a church, all safe

On Tuesday, January 11, a miracle spared the lives of four crew members of a hospital helicopter in a neighborhood of Drexer Hill, in the US state of Philadelphia.

The aircraft crashed into a church but no one died. The helicopter was carrying the pilot, a doctor, a nurse and a two month old baby to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

According to the Upper Darby County Police Superintendent, Timothy Bernhardt, the helicopter - a Eurocopter EC135 owned by Air methods - departed from Hagerstown, Maryland, and crashed about 45 minutes after takeoff.

Local authorities said the child was taken to hospital in stable condition, the pilot sustained more serious injuries but is also in stable condition and was taken to the hospital. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. The nurse and doctor did not need treatment.

The church was not damaged. "We have no information on how the accident happened, but I must say that the pilot did a great job of landing that helicopter without knocking down the telephone poles, without damaging the structures and, again, without losing human lives." he said Derrick Sawyer, Fire Chief of Upper Darby Township.

Also Monica Taylor, president of the Delaware County Council, was impressed by the case. "It is truly a miracle that there were no casualties and that the pilot was able to control the helicopter," said the woman.