At approximately 10:45PM on Monday, the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District received a call reporting a brush fire in the 600 block of Portwine Road in Riverwoods. Station 52 companies responded to the address and were unable to locate a brush fire, but they were flagged down by a resident who reported a plane down in a wooded area between two houses down the street.
Firefighters survey the crash site as others inside the plane work to free one of the passengers. Larry Shapiro photo
At the same time RED Center received additional calls reporting a house fire and a plane into a house. As they were filling out the alarm, the Lincolnshire companies found the crash site which was within 30 feet of a house. There was a small fire that was addressed with a pump can and firefighters began assessing the plane’s five occupants, one of which was out of the wreckage of the twin engine plane when crews arrived.
The flight medic is attended to by paramedics before being transported. He sustained several injuries but was out of the wreckage supplying information to the firefighters when they arrived. Larry Shapiro photo
The Chicago Tribune reports that:
The plane, owned by Trans North Aviation, was transporting the patient, his wife, two pilots and a flight paramedic to the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, about five miles south of the crash site, according to Ron Schaberg, owner and president of the South Carolina company.
The patient was being brought to a local medical facility for an undisclosed medical issue, Schaberg said.
The aircraft, which passed a safety inspection earlier that day, picked up the unidentified male patient fromWest Palm Beach, Fla. just before 6 p.m., but made a fuel stop in Jesup, Ga. before continuing on to Chicago Executive, Schaberg said.
The crash came just after the pilot reported that the plane was having a fuel problem.
One of the plane's passengers is loaded into a Buffalo Grove ambulance for transport to Lutheran General Hospital. He later died. Larry Shapiro photo
Three passengers were removed from the plane and transported to Lutheran General and Condell hospitals. Two others were pronounced dead at the scene, and the victim that was transported to Lutheran General Hospital, the patient being transported from Florida, subsequently died.
The debris field is quite large as is the number of trees that were hit by the plane as it descended. Larry Shapiro photo
The wreckage remains in place overnight until investigators can examine the crash site in the daylight. There is a debris field of some 500-1,000 feet through a wooded area which reportedly includes parts high a tree.
The Prospect Heights Fire Department responded to the scene with this 4x4 Titan ARFF. Larry Shapiro photo
The Chicago Tribune reports that plane to be a Piper Navajo, but the company website states that they fly a Piper Chieftain, and the Travel-Care Air Medical Transport site mentions a Piper Cheyenne II XL operated by Trans North.
Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Squad 51 provided additional scene lighting, power, and water as companies removed the victims from the wreckage. Larry Shapiro photo
Lincolnshire firefighters assist the Lake County Coroner's office personnel with removing one of the victims. Larry Shapiro photo
The rear of the plane spun around into this tree severing the tail section. Larry Shapiro photo
The right side wing and engine of the Piper twin-engine plane. Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro and Tim Olk were at the scene. Larry has a gallery HERE and Tim has a gallery HERE. Mutual aid came from Deerfield, Long Grove, Libertyville, Countryside, Buffalo Grove, Prospect heights, and Wheeling.
#1 by Scott Peterson on December 5, 2011 - 10:41 AM
I will not Monday morning quarterback anything that happened on that call or the patient care. For all the “professionals” on here, think of the calls in your career; how many vehicle accidents have you wondered why people have walked away with no injuries, no problems. Maybe even transported and walking out of the ER before you’re done with a report. All when common sense & past call experience says they should be dead? How many deaths in vehicle accidents over the years of anyone’s career were just because of the location of that unfortunate victim when everyone else was fine?
I am well aware of what EMS systems say about death/injury, etc, etc. I will not critique good or bad anyone’s actions for this call or others on this web-site. Others should do the same as this site is for sharing of pictures, dept facts and other FD info. It should not turn into a bitch session as other forums have evolved into!
#2 by Chris Sterricker on December 2, 2011 - 4:24 PM
am so glad to see that you are recovering enough to post on the internet Mr. Blodgett! Please know I meant no disrespect to the crew that was treating you, just concern. As someone who has shared the same risks as you, flying fixed-wing for AeroCare Medical Transport Systems and rotor-wing with Loyola and Air Methods LifeStar, I am very glad you are doing well and healing. I am sorry for your experience and the loss of your crew and especially your patient.
Chris Sterricker
#3 by Mike on December 1, 2011 - 4:38 PM
Thanks for the clarification Maynard. I pray you’re healing, both physically and emotionally from this traumatic event.
#4 by Maynard Blodgett Paramedic on December 1, 2011 - 12:23 PM
For all those asking about the cot and no collar, that person is me, the Flight medic for N59773, i walked up to the medics crawled onto their cot, at the time the photo was taken it was early, there was a collar placed and they did what they could for what they had at that moment, I will tell you that the skills preformed were what they needed to be. I have been in EMS 30yrs and have no complaints about the skills provided. Maynard Blodgett Nremt-P
#5 by Mike on November 30, 2011 - 8:16 AM
To quote the article in the Daily Herald this morning, “By the time Norwesh pulled the man out, the medic who survived the crash had come up behind him with a badly shattered arm, but was able to walk and speak.” As previously stated, this may have something to do with it.
http://dailyherald.com/article/20111129/news/711299751/
#6 by FireMedic553 on November 30, 2011 - 7:15 AM
And signed a refusal to perform spinal immobilization. Lets hope that was the case.
#7 by Daniel Vazzak on November 29, 2011 - 8:24 PM
I agree with both you guys…but just keep in mind, if the medic is A&Ox4 (or 3 depending on how your system rolls) he’s legally allowed to decline any/all treatment. So, (NOT saying this is the case here) he could have told them to forego c-spine precautions.
#8 by FireMedic553 on November 29, 2011 - 12:07 PM
Have to agree with Chris on this one. As a medic thats the first thing I noticed when looking at the pics with the patients. Although the pics could hurt the medics, they should know better. Death in the same compartment, major intrusion, the sudden stop all require at least c-collar and backboard. I’m sure they ALSd the patients. Can’t forget the BLS first! CYA! Photographers are every where!
#9 by Chris Sterricker on November 29, 2011 - 9:11 AM
I don’t normally do this but, the flight medic just survived a plane crash that killed two other people outright and he’s sitting on the cot at a 45-degree angle with no c-collar or backboard? Guys, I love your site but this is why we get camera-shy sometimes when you’re around. I’d hate to see this pic wind up blown up 10x’s and on display in a court room someday.