Officials are investigating the cause of a Fire Rescue helicopter crash in Florida on Monday morning that left two people dead and four others injured.
The helicopter was responding to the scene of a car crash to transport an injured person to the hospital when the chopper caught fire shortly after takeoff. Video footage of the incident shows smoke trailing from the back of the helicopter as it travels at a low altitude.
The crew called the airport control tower to request clearance for an emergency landing. They also requested dispatch to send other responders to the scene of the car crash.
“We are talking about the character of these men,” Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony later said. “As they were fighting for their lives, they were thinking about somebody else.”
Before the helicopter could land, the chopper’s tail appeared to break loose, as seen in the video. The helicopter began spiraling downward and then crashed into an apartment complex.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office posted in a Facebook message that the helicopter crash occurred near North Dixie Highway and Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida, about 8:46 a.m. The crash and resulting fire left a gaping hole in the roof of the apartment building.
BSO Fire Rescue Captain Terryson Jackson, 49, a 19-year veteran of the department, died in the crash. The two other crew members aboard the helicopter were injured but managed to crawl out of the wreckage and climb down the roof of the building. The surviving crew members, also part of the Fire Rescue Department, were identified as pilot Daron Roche, 37, and Mike Chaguaceda, 31, as WFAA reported.
A woman inside the apartment building was killed in the crash, and two others were injured. The woman’s identity has not yet been released pending notification of next of kin.
Sheriff Tony honored Jackson for his service in a subsequent Facebook post.
“As a flight paramedic, he impacted the community daily, providing critical patients with the highest pre-hospital care. He consistently showed an unmatched passion for the job,” Tony said in the post. “He always provided expert care, compassion, and reassurance to those during their most significant time of need.”
Tony also posthumously promoted Captain Jackson to Battalion Chief.
“He was one of the best of us, one of the brightest, and he bled this profession, inside and out,” said Tony.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash.