By Neale Gulley
The Tonawanda News
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Despite what appeared to be clear skies, a Mercy Flight helicopter was forced to land in North Tonawanda Friday afternoon citing low visibility on route to ECMC.
The pilot of the aircraft touched down in Veteran’s Park on River Road just before noon, got out and made a call on his cell phone to summon city firefighters and an ambulance to transport the patient the rest of the way.
“Mercy Flight was transporting a patient from Youngstown and he encountered foggy conditions, so he landed there and we were dispatched to meet him and off-load the patient,” North Tonawanda Fire Captain Glenn Richau said.
The male patient was involved in a car accident in that area, he said, and continued to undergo treatment by a crew of two Mercy flight paramedics while in transit. His condition was described as having been stabilized in transit.
Typically, Richau said, patients with critical injuries are air lifted, but he said distance from a trauma center like that at ECMC is also a factor when considering accident patients from as far away as Youngstown. He said he could not provide further details on the patient, including his name. The helicopter was never compromised in any way, and was landed as a precaution.
Residents and passersby on River Road, however, took notice of the brightly painted chopper, assuming the worst as blue skies largely dominated Friday afternoon. Weather reports earlier in the day at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga and Niagara Falls International Airport, however, variously reported zero to 1/4-mile visibility throughout the morning.
“I know they had fog conditions when I got up for work this morning,” Richau said.
A full crew was sent by North Tonawanda Fire Department, including a fire engine, rescue apparatus and other vehicles to ensure all the right equipment was on scene, though the transfer was quick and went off without incident.
Mercy Flight’s Vice President Margie Ferrentino said an isolated remnant of that earlier haze wasn’t picked up on radar, but moved quickly east and was to blame for the pilot’s sudden difficulty regarding visibility.
“Interestingly enough ... we knew the aircraft launched and we watched this weather come in — it came through and it wasn’t even on the radar or anything. They did the prudent thing,” she said. “When we took off it was fine, it wasn’t even around.”
Ferrentino, who has worked for the non-profit organization since it began in 1981, said procedure dictates pilots won’t fly unless there are clear conditions upward to 800 feet and at least two miles visibility. The pilot had reported visibility well short of the two miles required before making the decision to land at the riverside park.
“By the time they came back the weather cleared. It was just a very short storm system that came through but it was enough to put them below minimum (conditions),” she said.
Mercy Flights are conducted from bases in Buffalo, Olean and Batavia, 24 hours per day, seven days per week, according to the organization’s website.
Friday’s flight originated from Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.
Since its inception, the organization has gone from one leased aircraft, two pilots and two paramedics in 1981 to crews able to man five aircraft.
The Mercy Flight response team includes 26 paramedics, 27 nurses, 13 pilots, nine air medical communications specialists, six aircraft mechanics and an 11-member administrative, development, finance and facilities management personnel.
They have flown 18,000 transport missions throughout Western New York, Northwest Pennsylvania and Southern Ontario.
