Posted by chicagomedia.org on December 04, 2008 at 23:46:20:
In Reply to: Air Angels crash report released posted by chicagomedia.org on October 31, 2008 at 14:59:37:
Lights on at crash-damaged radio tower
December 2, 2008
By DAN CAMPANA Staff Writer
AURORA -- A new set of warning lights now adorn the radio tower involved in October's fatal Air Angels helicopter crash.
White blinking lights on the tower behind WBIG-AM on Eola Road have been a "work in progress" over the last month or so, according to station President Rick Jakle.
"We have installed tower lights on the shortened, now 409-foot, tower at the WBIG site," Jakle said in an e-mail. "Because the tower is shorter, the FAA required a different configuration using a lower level, not as bright, lighting system."
Late on Oct. 15, the Air Angels medical helicopter's rotor cut a guy wire and a conduit carrying electricity to the lighting system. The chopper crashed in a field on the east side of Eola Road, killing three crew members and a 14-month-old girl who were en route from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which continues to investigate the crash, said video evidence and the severed conduit rebut witness claims that the lights weren't working just prior to the helicopter striking the guy wire.
Investigators are trying to figure out why the flight was so close to the then 734-foot tower. A report on the crash's probable cause is expected in early 2009.
The NTSB also has scheduled a three-day public hearing in February to focus on the overall safety of medical helicopters. Officials with the board said there has been a "drastic increase in accidents" since NTSB issued a special report on the issue in 2006.
"This hearing will be extremely important because it can provide an opportunity to learn more about the industry, so that we can make further recommendations that can prevent these accidents and save lives," said Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member and chairman of the hearing.
The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3-5, 2009, in Washington, D.C.
In 2008, there have been seven fatal medical chopper crashes with 28 deaths attributed to them, the NTSB reported.
(Aurora Beacon News)