By Dave Statter
dstatter@wusa9.com
STATter 911 — http://www.statter911.com
WUSA9 — http://www.wusa9.com
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — STATter 911 has learned there was an apparent delay in notifying rescuers the Maryland State Police helicopter that crashed late Saturday night had disappeared from radar at Andrews Air Force Base.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed on Monday the time of the crash was 11:58 PM. That is also the time an air traffic controller at Andrews lost communications with the chopper.
Dispatch times and sources familiar with the response indicate that fire and EMS dispatchers with the Prince George’s County 911 center were not alerted to the possibility of a downed helicopter until 12:41 AM, 43 minutes after the crash occurred.
The helicopter was not found until shortly after 2:00 AM in Walker Mill Regional Park near District Heights. A patient on the medical flight, eighteen-year-old Jordan Wells was found alive in the wreckage by a police officer. She remains hospitalized. Four others were killed in the crash, including the flight crew, an EMS worker and another patient.
Rescuers were guided to the location by information received through Verizon about the possible location of a cell phone belonging to a member of the helicopter crew.
STATter 911 has contacted Maryland State Police about the length of time it took to get word to fire crews about the missing helicopter. Spokesman Greg Shipley says he is looking into the matter.
The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has referred questions to NTSB. NTSB has not commented on the delay.
According to dispatching records, Ambulances 827 (Morningside) and 823 (Forestville) were first sent to the Andrews Air Force Base hanger of Trooper 2 at 11:52 PM. They were to wait for the helicopter’s arrival and complete the transport of two patients to the trauma center at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. The crew from Trooper 2 made the request after determining the visibility and ceiling had worsened considerably since leaving Andrews at 11:10 PM for the mission to Waldorf, MD.
The NTSB reports pilot Stephen Bunker had coordinated an instrument approach for runway 19-R and made contact with the tower at Andrews at 11:55 PM. Thirty seconds after being cleared to land, the pilot told the controller he had lost the glide slope. The glide slope is the part of the instrument landing system that guides the aircraft’s altitude for a safe approach. After the controller confirmed everything appeared to be okay with the equipment on the airport’s end, Bunker requested the tower guide him in verbally. Before that could happen, the chopper dropped from the radar. The time was 11:58 PM and the NTSB says the controller tried unsuccessfully to make radio contact with Trooper 2.
STATter 911 has been made aware of the timeline for the search as entered by fire and EMS dispatchers at the Prince George’s County Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC). Below are a list of some of the significant events as emergency crews in Prince George’s County and other jurisdictions searched for the missing chopper. This is only a partial timeline that does not include every unit dispatched and location checked. It also does not include actions by police officers. STATter 911 has been told there were police officers searching prior to notification of the fire department.
12:03 AM: By this time both Ambulances 827 and 823 had reported they were at Andrews.
12:12 AM: Ambulances 827 and 823 were waiting at the hanger.
12:41 AM: Dispatchers entered the first of a series of messages into the computer system indicating that Trooper 2 was missing. The information about the disappearance of the chopper came from the Maryland State Police Barracks in Forestville. The barracks reported Andrews Air Force Base approximated Trooper 2’s last contact at two miles from the base, coming from the north. It also mentioned the area of Westphalia Road off of Route 4.
12:48 AM: PSCC indicated they were working with SYSCOM and Andrews Air Force Base in an effort to find the helicopter. SYSCOM is the state communications facility that coordinates medical helicopter transports.
12:54 AM: Battalion Chief 803 was sent to the Forestville Barracks to coordinate the search. At the same time GPS coordinates that had been provided to PSCC indicated a location in Calvert County, MD. Calvert’s 911 center was contacted.
12:54 AM: Chief 837A (Ritchie) reported in, having checked locations around Fed Ex Field in Landover. This happened four minutes before a specific request from the Forestville Barracks that all parking lots around the stadium be checked as a possible place where the chopper pilot might have attempted an emergency landing.
1:09 AM: Battalion Chief 803 and EMS 814 reported arriving at the Forestville barracks.
1:18 AM: A representative from Verizon advised that a “ping” of a cell phone belonging to one of the helicopter crew members had the signal coming from the tower at 9100 East Hampton Drive. That area was given to Engine 837 to check.
1:26 AM: It was reported sheriff’s deputies in Charles and Calvert Counties were searching their jurisdictions for the missing helicopter.
1:40 AM: Further information from Verizon indicated the signal was coming into the west side of the East Hampton Drive tower with the possibility the phone was located within a 3 to 5 mile radius.
1:43 AM: Brush 843 (Bowie) was checking Watkins Park.
1:50 AM: Battalion Chief 801 set up a command post at a fast food restaurant within the area that was being checked around the East Hampton Drive tower.
2:01 AM: Fire and EMS crews were told that a police officer smelled jet fuel in the area of Ritchie Road and Walker Mill Road.
2:04 AM: The helicopter was located in Walker Mill Regional Park.
2:09 AM: It was determined there was only one survivor.
Since 1972 Dave Statter has covered the news. A good deal of Dave’s reporting has focused on how fire and emergency medical services are delivered in and around Washington and Baltimore. Along the way, Dave was also a volunteer firefighter, an emergency dispatcher and a cardiac rescue technician.