Damage found on hospital helicopter after landing in Colorado backcountry

A Flight For Life medical helicopter was left where it landed Friday near St. Mary's Glacier after damage was found on its tail rotor. 

A post-landing inspection by the pilot found a bent strike tab at the end of the tail rotor blade. Strike tabs are thin pieces of metal along the framework of each main and tail rotor. They are designed to indicate slight contacts made with anything on the ground. 

"There was nothing unusual or problematic with the landing," said Brent Boyer, spokesman for CommonSpirit Health. "By policy, and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our crews and patients, our helicopters are automatically grounded anytime a strike tab is bent. The helicopter will be transported to our hangar where it will undergo a thorough inspection. It will be returned to service as soon as possible. In the meantime, a backup Flight For Life Colorado helicopter is being moved to St. Anthony Hospital, so there will be no disruption to our air medical transport program."

Flight For Life's LifeGuard1 landed near the popular backcountry destination to hoist an injured hiker who had been initially cared for by members of Alpine Rescue Team. When the aircraft was declared grounded, the Alpine crew continued to haul the injured hiker downhill to the trailhead where an Clear Creek EMS ambulance was waiting. 

The patient's care was not impacted by the delay, according to ART's Steve Wilson. 

Wilson said canceled was not extraordinary. Weather often plays a role in backcountry rescues and ground crews "never rely solely on the helo."

No one from the grounds crews noticed what caused the rotor strike, if indeed it occurred during the landing at St. Mary's Glacier, Wilson said. 

CommonSpirit's Boyer added that damage to strike tabs is not uncommon given the sloped terrain and presence of scrub oak in the areas the copters are landed during rescues and patient retrievals.