The helicopter air ambulance pilot of a Survival Flight Bell 407 died shortly after apparently suffering a heart attack while attempting to land at a company base at Headland, Alabama, on Christmas Day. The EMS flight was returning to base with three crew aboard when 61-year-old pilot Doug Davis suffered the attack shortly before touchdown at 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. The helicopter rolled onto its side just short of the helipad. The two other crewmembers were uninjured. There was no patient onboard.
The flight was returning from a call in the Florida Panhandle. In a statement released by Survival Flight, the company said Davis “heroically brought the helicopter completely back to base and nearly landed it normally, the helicopter rolling onto its side at the last second. Because of what he was able to do, our two other crewmembers on board the helicopter suffered no injuries and they began lifesaving efforts on the pilot almost immediately.”
Davis was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. An official cause of death is pending. The 2000 model year helicopter, N663SF, sustained substantial damage.
Survival Flight operates a mixed fleet of Bell, Sikorsky, and Pilatus aircraft from bases in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma.