this girl deserves a medal

aquaman2000 · November 4, 2007

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - A helicopter carrying three people shooting video for a boating magazine crashed in the Gulf of Mexico near Sarasota on Tuesday, killing two of the people aboard.

The helicopter went down in about 20 feet of water around 10 a.m., said Sarasota County Fire Department Assistant Chief Paul Dezzi.

Shortly before the crash, the helicopter had been flying close to a boat that the crew was videotaping, but it wasn't clear what caused it to go down, sheriff's Lt. Chuck Lesaltato said.

``One witness said the helicopter came close the water and somehow flipped,'' Lesaltato said. ``Debris from the helicopter hit the boat.''

Two men on the helicopter were pronounced dead after arriving on shore, Lesaltato said. A third man was flown by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. A hospital spokeswoman declined to release his condition until his family could be notified.

The boat operator and a model onboard the vessel were unhurt. Dezzi said the model, a nurse whose name was not immediately released, jumped in and kept the men afloat as rescue boats from more than half a dozen agencies responded.

``She dove right there into the fuel and was able to get a couple of guys out,'' he said. The men were brought ashore on police boats.

Dick Hendricks, executive vice president of Powerboat magazine's parent firm, Maple Grove, Minn.-based Ehlert Publishing Group, said the company was still trying to find out who was involved in the crash. He said the magazine had several employees and freelance contractors in the area working on a weeklong series of boat tests.

The crash occurred south of Sarasota about two miles off a southwest Florida barrier island. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety

Board have been called in to investigate.

I posted this article because some helo or aviation agency should give this model/nurse an award

TheLorax · November 4, 2007

she sounds like the perfect woman

Sparker · November 5, 2007

I love model nurses and nurse models. HOT!

wannabe heli pilot · November 5, 2007

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP)

I posted this article because some helo or aviation agency should give this model/nurse an award

Agreed, A very selfless and brave act definitely deserves some recognition, although someone like that most likely would not seek it.

Rob Lyman · November 5, 2007

Duplicate post deleted.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Rob Lyman

Rob Lyman · November 5, 2007

Anyone know if this was a boatpix helo? Probably not, since there were three onboard and the pilot sounds like he was very experienced. Just wondering, since I was down in Sarasota two weeks ago where boatpix was taking photos of our sailboat race and a poker run in the bay. Kind of brings it all home.

nbit · November 5, 2007

Anyone know if this was a boatpix helo? Probably not, since there were three onboard and the pilot sounds like he was very experienced. Just wondering, since I was down in Sarasota two weeks ago where boatpix was taking photos of our sailboat race and a poker run in the bay. Kind of brings it all home.

Last I heard, BoatPix doesn't fly B206's. Might be a good to read the accident report or articles before making a cliche reponse ("...Kind of brings it all home..."). No sense in adding to the rumor mill inferences... An ex-navy brethren is trying to disappoint me here???

Rob Lyman · November 5, 2007

Last I heard, BoatPix doesn't fly B206's. Might be a good to read the accident report or articles before making a cliche reponse ("...Kind of brings it all home..."). No sense in adding to the rumor mill inferences... An ex-navy brethren is trying to disappoint me here???

Wasn't meant to be a bust on boatpix. More the fact that I was just sailing down there with boatpix taking photos of me and the thought that it could have been the same aircraft "brought it home". Of course I said it sounded like the pilot was more experienced (based on the article I read). I didn't see B206 mentioned in any article I read, but figured it wasn't an R-22 based on 3 aboard. Does boatpix fly other aircraft? I don't know. I also didn't see that it happened in September.

As far as disappointing you, I can't say that ever registered on the radar screen.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Rob Lyman

nbit · November 5, 2007

Wasn't meant to be a bust on boatpix. More the fact that I was just sailing down there with boatpix taking photos of me and the thought that it could have been the same aircraft "brought it home". Of course I said it sounded like the pilot was more experienced (based on the article I read). I didn't see B206 mentioned in any article I read, but figured it wasn't an R-22 based on 3 aboard. Does boatpix fly other aircraft? I don't know. I also didn't see that it happened in September.

As far as disappointing you, I can't say that ever registered on the radar screen.

I'm not sure of the intent of the last comment, but none of mine where intended or said as personal attack. In fact, all were said with just the opposite in mind. If they were taken otherwise, I apologize. I should have finished the post with a ...As far as BoatPix flying anything other than R22's, I'm not sure. I heard a rumor they're getting an R44, as yet unconfirmed.

Rob Lyman · November 5, 2007

I'm not sure of the intent of the last comment, but none of mine where intended or said as personal attack. In fact, all were said with just the opposite in mind. If they were taken otherwise, I apologize. I should have finished the post with a ...As far as BoatPix flying anything other than R22's, I'm not sure. I heard a rumor they're getting an R44, as yet unconfirmed.

nbit,

My last comment was more or less in response to your last comment:

"No sense in adding to the rumor mill inferences... An ex-navy brethren is trying to disappoint me here??? "

No biggie. I shortened my original post (before posting) and left it open to misinterpretation. My bad. I just wasn't worried about disappointing anyone with my post. I also wasn't trying to cast aversions or spread rumors. Just wondering.

I think we all learn a lot about flying by aiming a critical eye at our own actions as well as those of others. Beside the critical eye, sometimes there is a personal connection. In this case, it wasn't there. But it was eerily close this time.

"There but by the grace of God go I." While I did make another post today that was critical of someone else's actions, my response on this thread was merely a reflection on how close to home this particularly accident might have been to my own personal life. ie What if that was a boatpix helo and that happened the weekend I was racing in Sarasota?