Well, I havent even had the chance to update my blog and let you all know that I got my second chance to ride out with the Careflite helicopter crew. Had a great day on Wednesday May 26th and will definitely post some more pictures soon.

Unfortunately, Careflite had a horrible day this Wednesday, June 2nd. They lost a helicopter during a maintenance test run, along with a pilot and mechanic. It was their first loss of human life in 25 years. Having spent 2 full days with several Careflite employees, I have an inkling of understanding about them. Careflite is like a small family. They are all very close, spend time together with each other's families, and take their work very seriously. Most importantly, safety is #1 on the job. During both of my days with them, I never once felt that my safety was in jeoparday and everyone, not just my friend Jody, made sure I was good to go...seatbelt on, helmet locked, door closed completely.

It broke my heart to hear the news. When the news reports first came out, they were saying "2 dead, no survivors." Well, knowing that there would be at least 3 on board if they were out on an actual call (pilot, medic, nurse), I knew this wasnt a regular run. I called Jody immediately to make sure he was okay (and he was), then I saw a piece of wreckage and noticed it was green. (all of the careflite helicopters in the fleet are orange, blue, and white). Turns out that it was a helicopter that Careflite had recently purchased and was doing maintenance work on before putting it in service here in the DFW area. It also was in the hangar last week at their operations base while I was there for a couple hours (we had to get a part switched out on our chopper). Jody and I had been wandering around the hangar and he had told me about the "new" aircraft and even opened up the door and had me sit in it to see how much more spacious it was than their current ones. Little did we know it would be smoldering wreckage one week later!

See post below for a link to an article from the Dallas Morning News. It's been all over the news. Also, please keep the families of the pilot- Guy Del Guidice, age 44and the mechanic- Stephen Durler, age 23, as well as all Careflite employees, in your prayers.