By Carol Robinson
al.com
SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. — Sedatives used by the pilot of a medical helicopter led to the deadly medical helicopter crash two years ago in Shelby County, according to the National Transportation and Safety Board.
The crash happened April 2, 2023. Life Saver 4 out of Sylacauga went down just before 5:30 p.m. that Sunday off U.S. 280 .
Marc Gann, 63, and Samuel “Adam” Russell, 43, were killed when the helicopter went down. Gann was the pilot and Russell was flight nurse.
Gann served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army where he was an attack helicopter pilot with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4. He was also a former Army Ranger.
The father of three joined the Life Saver crew in 2007. He flew the first flight out of Life Saver 4.
Medic Amanda Daniels was critically injured but survived the crash.
The patient the helicopter was going to pick up, 48-year-old Johnny Davis, was transported via ambulance instead and died en route to the hospital. He had been mountain biking with his wife and daughters when he suffered heart trouble.
The NTSB’s final report of the crash, issued this month, said toxicology tests showed the presence of cetirizine, better known as Zyrtec, cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxer, and diphenhydramine, Benadryl all of which are potential central nervous system depressants.
“Each drug also carries a warning that use with other CNS depressant medications is not advised, as use of these medications in combination may cause sedation, impair concentration, worsen reaction time and vigilance, and worsen psychomotor performance,” the report states.
“The pilot’s use of multiple sedating CNS depressants likely worsened this performance deficiency and contributed to his delayed application of appropriate control inputs.”
The report determined the probable cause of the accident to be, “The pilot’s delayed corrective inputs while maneuvering, which resulted in a loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s use of multiple sedating medications.”
According to the NTSB report, the air ambulance crash happened at 5:23 p.m.
Video and witness accounts aided in the investigation.
A witness and his wife were driving down a road when they saw the helicopter off to the side of the road about 100 feet away and 3 to 4 feet above the ground.
“The helicopter was hovering, facing south, and parallel to the road,’’ the report states. “The helicopter then rapidly ascended and turned towards the road where they were traveling on.”
“The helicopter moved above the car for several seconds and turned 180 degrees back toward a field, and immediately the helicopter pitched nose down and impacted the road behind them,’’ according to the report.
Another witness told investigators he and his wife were outside their house when they saw a helicopter hovering over a field across the road. He was not sure if the helicopter landed or was a few feet above the ground.
The witness said he saw the helicopter’s tail go straight up in the air before it then flew sideways and impacted the ground.
The report detailed devastating damage to the aircraft that included the explanation that the cabin and the pilot’s left side flight controls, as well as other equipment, were pushed about two feet into the fuselage.
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