The pilot of a news helicopter that crashed onto a Montreal highway saved his own and his passenger’s life by guiding the aircraft down safely in a controlled crash.
Benoit Garneau of Montreal General Hospital said Leger’s quick thinking allowed him to bring the TVA helicopter down after it lost power over Montreal at 7:30 this morning.
Leger and his passenger, journalist Réjean Léveillé, survived the crash but are in hospital after the helicopter hit a ditch near the Bonaventure Expressway by Technoparc in Montreal.
Leger was able to remove himself from the wreckage but Léveillé was trapped in the cockpit between a fence and some wire. The well-known journalist was conscious enough to talk to his rescuers and firefighters kept Léveillé warm with portable heaters to avoid hypothermia while they worked to free him from the wreckage.
He was freed about 40 minutes after the crash and was rushed to hospital with injuries to his chest and pelvis as well as minor facial lacerations. The hospital said his injuries are not life-threatening and he will undergo surgery.
“(Leger’s) cool-headedness saved them. It could have been much worse - it could have struck a building,” said Garneau.
Leger had reported that the aircraft was having technical problems and then attempted an emergency landing on the Bonaventure Expressway. It has been reported that the crash was a result of the helicopter losing power and that Leger, who is not the helicopter's regular pilot, unsuccessfully attempted to land on a nearby helipad, missing the area by about 2,000 feet.
Leger is a commercial pilot with twelve years experience but was not the regular pilot of this helicopter.
Bus driver Marc Gingras was one of the first people on the scene.
“Everyone on the bus was shocked because the helicopter fell so quickly,” he said.
Gingras stopped his bus and asked is passengers to cal 911. He then took his fire extinguisher from the bus and ran towards the crash. He said he stayed with the trapped Léveillé even though the fumes from the crash were overwhelming.
The helicopter has been identified as a Robinson R-44 Newscopter and was commissioned in August 2005.
Two investigators from the Transportation Safety Board were dispatched to the scene and have begun an investigation into the crash
The wreckage of the aircraft will be transported to Ottawa in an engineering laboratory where testing will be conducted.
"I can’t tell you how long the investigation will last. Each case is different. We have to take the time to do it properly, "said Chris Krepski, spokesman board said.
