Maryland State Police Helicopter Incident


Text of the press release from Prince George's County Fire/EMS:

A Maryland State Police Helicopter, with five people on-board, was the subject of an intense search by multiple public safety agencies this morning. Trooper 2, a Maryland State Police Helicopter, had been on a mission transporting two critically injured patients to a trauma center.

On Saturday, September 27, 2008, just minutes before 12 midnight, SYSCOM, The Maryland Statewide Communications System that provides communications among ambulances, medevac helicopters, dispatch centers, hospital emergency departments, trauma centers, specialty referral centers, and law enforcement, requested the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department to dispatch two Basic Life Support Ambulances to rendezvous with Trooper 2 at their hangar on Andrews Air Force Base.
Trooper 2 had radioed in that they needed to land due to weather conditions and had 2 patients on-board that required transportation to the hospital. The two patients on-board Trooper 2 were crash victims from an incident in Charles County, MD. As is normal procedure, an EMS provider from that jurisdiction was on-board Trooper 2 assisting with patient care.

Trooper 2 never arrived at the rendezvous. At about 12:30 AM, Sunday, September 28, 2008, SYSCOM lost radio contact with the aircraft and an area wide search was initiated. During the search, using technology that tracks cell phone signals, an area near Walker Mill Road and Berry Lane in the Capitol Heights/Ritchie communities was identified and searched. At about 2:00 AM, a police officer located the crash site on a park trail near that intersection. As of 3:30 AM, Fire/EMS units on the scene
advised of four fatalities. These include the crew of Trooper 2, an EMS provider from Charles County and one of the original crash victims. The second original crash victim, a teenaged female, survived the helicopter crash and was taken by paramedics to a nearby Trauma Center.

Any additional information about this incident will be released by the Maryland State Police and other federal agencies that will join the investigation.


http://cms.princegeorgescountymd.gov/FireEMSNews/default.aspx?itemid=813