Friends, family gather to offer pilot support

Safety Harbor Fire Department Capt. Jim Hensel, injured in an air ambulance crash Friday, is in serious condition.

By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 4, 2002

Friends and family are rallying behind Safety Harbor Fire Department Capt. Jim Hensel, who was injured in an air ambulance crash Friday in Lexington, Ky.

The Lear jet Hensel was co-piloting ran off the Blue Grass Airport runway and slid onto a busy highway. On Tuesday, the University of Kentucky Medical Center reported Hensel, 39, in serious, but stable condition.

Safety Harbor Deputy Fire Chief Ed Martens said Hensel, who fractured his back and neck in the accident, has both feeling and motion in his legs. He has been conscious, though heavily sedated for pain.

His 31-member department was hit hard by the news of Hensel, a 17-year veteran who has a reputation for being kind and outgoing, Martens said.

"For Jim this is physically and emotionally traumatic. It's also emotionally traumatic for everyone else," Martens said. "This is a small department and everybody's close."

Capt. Ray Duke and paramedic/firefighter Michael Eash flew to Lexington, as well as Jim's wife, Lori, who works for Safety Harbor in the finance department.

Hensel's family is planning to transfer him to Tampa General Hospital on Thursday or Friday, Martens said.

City employees have shared their concerns about Hensel with Safety Harbor City Manager Wayne Logan.

"This is a very tight group and they care for each other a lot and everybody is very supportive and thinks a lot of Jim and his wife, Lori," said Logan. "They've both been employees for quite some time. There's a lot of support out there and a lot of caring for them."

There has been talk of starting a fund to assist Hensel and his family, Logan said.

The air ambulance was flying from Fort Myers to Lexington to transport Louise D. Babb, who had pneumonia, to visit doctors in Lexington. Babb died in the crash.

Four others, including Hensel, were injured in the flight. Chief flight nurse Diana Burgess and Mrs. Babb's husband, John, both were listed in serious but stable condition Tuesday. Pilot Michael Lansing was released Sunday from St. Joseph's Hospital, according to Jeff Murphy, the hospital's director of public relations.

St. Petersburg police Maj. Ron Hartz, Burgess' brother, also has flown to Kentucky.

The Lear jet was operated by Care Flight International, a Florida-based air ambulance firm. Care Flight's Web site says it had maintained a perfect safety record since its inception in 1983. The firm declined to comment Tuesday by phone and did not respond to e-mail inquiries.

The pilots were employed by American Air Network Inc., which also declined to comment and would not say how long Hensel worked for the company.

The plane was owned by Michael Henry of New Orleans and leased to American Air Network Inc. Henry was quoted in an Associated Press article saying that the plane's brakes had just been redone, and that the plane had $175,000 worth of maintenance less than three months ago.

-- Lorri Helfand can be reached at (727) 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com. Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.

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