POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – The Broward Sheriff’s Office has four choppers in its aviation unit. Two are specifically used for emergency medical services.
As recently as June, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony spoke during a budget workshop saying that his fleet is aging.
In 2020, BSO Fire Rescue introduced its new upgraded EMS rescue helicopters with Local 10 getting an exclusive look at the twin Eurocopter EC135s branded as “Firestars.”
The twin-engine helicopter is produced by Airbus, which the company said is in service in more than 65 countries and provides high levels of safety.
BSO’s new EMS rescue helicopters feature some of the most advanced lifesaving equipment currently available to treat and find individuals in emergency situations. Check them out in this exclusive @WPLGLocal10 feature! pic.twitter.com/RSom1Y4iwR
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) October 24, 2020
But on Monday morning, the pilot of one of Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s helicopters reported trouble.
“The video was very obvious in that either an engine on the left side or something associated with the engine, perhaps a fuel line, had broken,” ABC News Aviation Expert John Nance told Local 10 News.
“The Eurocopter is a very good machine and the pilot would have known there was a problem. That’s why he turned around to go back to the airport,” said Nance.
Local 10 News learned that the chopper that crashed on Monday is from 1999.
For big and busy South Florida counties, top brass agree that aviation units are essential.
In the Florida Keys, commissioners agreed to shell out more than $50 million to replace its 22-year-old fleet.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation is just beginning into what went wrong Monday.
“NTSB looks at everything but one of the things they’ll be paying a lot of attention to is the quality of the maintenance that was given to this ship,” said Nance.
Local 10 News has inquired about maintenance records kept by BSO about their fleet.
“It does appear that a pilot here who was given an impossible situation did the best he could and that this story will evolve over time,” said Nance.
The FAA confirmed that it will be looking into the cause of the collision while the NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.