Grand Rapid Press (Michigan)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As others hollered in the background, the first 911 caller described the horror high above, on Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital's helipad.

His voice frantic, the caller talked of being at a building on Lyon Street, happening to watch the helicopter take off, when he saw it hit the side of the building.

Others called to report the May 29 crash, too, including those in nearby buildings. At least two inside the hospital called, alarms sounding. A dispatcher asked one of those callers to pinpoint the location, and she reported it was at the helipad.

Dispatchers called firefighters from three stations.

"We're sending a full assignment," a dispatcher said on a recording obtained by The Press.

"Reportedly Aero Med has crashed. There is flames and heavy smoke."

Firefighters recognized trouble once outside, with heavy, black smoke visible for miles. Racing to the scene, they could not imagine that pilot Raymond Sampson and passenger Willard Elliott, a Federal Aviation Administration instructor, had survived.

They escaped flames by lowering themselves onto duct work on the side of the building before being rescued by firefighters.

"My first thought wasn't if there were any fatalities," Deputy Fire Chief Jeff VanDellen recalled. "It was, how many?"

Firefighters worked their way to the roof, and put out the fire trapping the men.

"Hopefully, it's a once-in-a-career (event), and for some, a none-in-a-career situation," VanDellen said.

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