Grand Rapids Press, 11/15/08 (http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-44/12267333263750.xml&coll=6)

On the roof of Spectrum Health’s Butterworth Hospital, scene of a fiery helicopter crash six months ago, workers were preparing to remove a radio tower Friday and putting final touches on a new landing pad.

Spectrum’s Aero Med helicopters will begin practice landings on the pad most likely late next week, hospital spokesman Bruce Rossman said. Spectrum officials had hoped to begin the practice landings Monday, but the removal of the tower, a wind sock and other equipment on the top of an adjacent elevator shaft is taking longer than anticipated, he said.

After each of the eight pilots becomes familiar with the landing pad, Aero Med will use it to bring patients to Butterworth’s emergency room, probably within a matter of days, Rossman said.

Aero Med halted the rooftop landings after one of its helicopters crashed there and burst into flames May 30 while lifting off. The pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration official escaped with minor injuries.

A preliminary report by a National Transportation Safety Board investigator said the crash occurred after the helicopter’s tail rotor clipped the radio tower. That tower is being replaced by a new one atop the nearby Meijer Heart Center. The tower is used for pagers and other wireless communications in the hospital area.

Bigger, safer

The new pad — technically called a helistop — is larger than the old pad, allowing for two 60-by-60-foot landing zones. It is elevated several feet above the roof and extends beyond the edge of the building. That design cuts down on turbulence, since wind coming up the sides of the 10-story building is channeled under the pad, Rossman said.

It includes two metal stairways and emergency exits to a floor below and is surrounded by aluminum safety netting. A fire suppression system can be activated at those exits and from inside the elevator tower.

Time saved

The new helistop will cut 10 to 20 minutes off the time it takes to transport patients by ground ambulance from the current temporary landing zone on Plymouth Avenue and Michigan Street a few miles east of the hospital, Rossman said.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Emergency Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.