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Colorado medical helicopter makes emergency landing near Fort Morgan, all 3 on board walked away

Medical helicopter makes emergency landing near Fort Morgan
Medical helicopter makes emergency landing near Fort Morgan 00:29

A medical helicopter made an emergency landing near Fort Morgan on Tuesday afternoon. Three flight staff, including two nurses and the pilot, were on board when the helicopter went down just after 3 p.m. north of Fort Morgan in the area of Highway 52 and County Road T. 

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CBS

The pilot and nurses walked away from the emergency landing. There wasn't a patient on board Banner Health's Med Evac at the time. The helicopter was flying to a hospital in Morgan County when it went down. 

RELATED: Med Evac celebrates 40 years of business, airlifting patients in Colorado and neighboring states

The Morgan County Sheriff's Office told CBS News Colorado that a bird strike caused mechanical issues which forced an emergency landing. 

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CBS

Banner Health released this statement to CBS News Colorado: This afternoon, a Med Evac helicopter suffered a bird strike while en route to pick up a patient outside of Fort Morgan. The pilot landed the aircraft safely. We are extremely proud of the skill and composure demonstrated by Banner Health's Med Evac pilot and two crew members who were onboard. Med Evac will be cooperating with local officials, the FAA and NTSB to fully investigate the incident.

Fort Morgan is about 80 miles northeast of Denver. 

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