BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – At a workshop in June, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony told the Broward County Commission that the rescue chopper that ended up crashing on Monday, killing two people and leaving four others injured, was on its last legs and needed to be replaced.
He told commissioners that the helicopter was being overworked, saying that it spent hundreds of hours longer in the air than the manufacturer recommended when it should’ve been grounded for comprehensive maintenance.
“(The) Fire rescue helicopter that we’re utilizing has been around since 1999. We’ve been piecemealing parts for years to maintain the flight capabilities,” said Tony. “Because of the volume that we are now handling, our aircraft are in the air for almost 1,000 hours. So, we’re almost doubling the flight time on these aircrafts before we can maintenance them.”
The Airbus 135-T helicopter was put into service in 1999 and in Tony’s presentation to the board, it said the chopper was at the end of its life.
Local 10 News spoke with John Eversole, a pilot and aviation attorney, who says this isn’t necessarily an indicator of bad things to come.
“The age doesn’t tell you anything about the aircraft,” Eversole said. “The end of life means to do an AD and to replace everything, it’ll be more expensive than the airplane, like fixing an old car.”
Local 10 News also learned in 2017 that BSO had an aviation unit review done by an outside company.
In the report, it explains “(An) Aircraft should be replaced before reaching certain milestones, namely a second engine overhaul, usually at the 7000-hour mark, or the 12-year inspection, whichever occurs first.”
At the end of that review, the company recommended that the helicopter in question should be sold, stating that it was at its optimal resale value.
Despite the helicopter being in question, Eversole says it does not mean that the chopper wasn’t airworthy.
“I would bet that this was a maintenance issue more likely than not, but the pilot didn’t do anything wrong. He had no choices, really,” he said.
Authorities identified 50-year-old Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Capt. Terryson Jackson, a 19-year veteran of the force, as one of the victims who lost their life.
On Tuesday, family members identified the second victim as 65-year-old Lurean Wheaton, who was killed inside of her home when the crash occurred.
Local 10 News also asked Eversole how two of the people onboard the helicopter were able to survive that crash, he called it: “An act of God and blind luck.”