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Two describe going for a spin -- the hard way
By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- The small, zip-top plastic bag was marked simply, "Sand taken from N56TP, 4-16-02." Inside was a cup of soft, brown sand. On Tuesday, Tampa police Officer Paul Federico grinned as a colleague handed him the baggie. It was a souvenir from his brush with death. "It's my sand," he said. It had been two days since Federico and his partner, pilot Gary Price, crash-landed a helicopter into the patch of shoreline where Tampa Bay meets MacDill Air Force Base. Standing a few feet from the damaged helicopter, which had been towed to the Tampa Police Department's aviation hangar, the two men told their story of spiraling downward 400 feet into shallow water. "I never had time to be frightened," said Federico, who suffered two broken ribs. The men were on routine patrol Sunday afternoon when the helicopter veered to the right, then started to spin. "It threw Paul and I up against the windshield," Price said. They had lost control of the tail rotor and decided to try an "autorotation," a maneuver they had practiced. The pilot tries to make as soft an emergency landing as possible, idling the engine and lifting the nose to force air under the helicopter as it descends. But the helicopter kept spinning. "At that point, we were in it for the ride," said Price, who suffered a back strain. "The loss of your tail rotor isn't something you can train for." The helicopter hit the water hard, then rolled over on the its left side. Federico was pinned, with his head under water. Price lifted him first by the helmet, then by the scruff of the neck so he could breathe and sit upright. After the men got their seat belts unbuckled, they climbed out of the helicopter. Nearby beachgoers called 911 after hearing the splash and seeing the wrecked helicopter. Price and Federico were flown to Tampa General Hospital, where they were later released. Price, 39, flew in the military before entering law enforcement. He has been with TPD for about a year. Federico, 46, has been with the department since 1982. He was a patrol officer who joined the aviation unit as a flight observer five years ago; he also has a fixed-wing pilot's license. Both men say they have full confidence in the agency's aviation unit and its helicopters. In the past seven years, there have been four incidents involving Tampa police helicopters, including a 1995 crash into Tampa Bay that left one officer dead and a 1996 crash caused by mechanical failure. In January, a helicopter was damaged during a training exercise. Federal authorities have not written a report on that crash. The National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and Tampa police investigators will scrutinize Sunday's emergency landing. Price and Federico hope to be back to work as soon as next week. For Federico, his bag of sand and a slogan on his key chain summed up his feelings about his job: "I'd rather be flying."
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Headlines From the Times local news desks Howard Troxler |
