Medic trips and drops donor heart after retrieving it from crashed helicopter

A donor heart was successfully transplanted at Keck Hospital in Los Angeles, United States after it survived a helicopter crash. The transport chopper failed to safely land on the rooftop helipad, crashing onto its side around 3:15 pm local time on Friday, November 6. The pilot and two people on-board were unharmed by the crash. Emergency workers removed the heart from the chopper and handed it to a hospital employee. The employee reportedly dropped the heart on the roof. However, the organ was successfully transplanted despite the unforeseen obstacles.

The private eight-seater helicopter ambulance was carrying the donor heart to the East Los Angeles hospital when the incident took place. As it approached Keck Hospital in Boyle Heights, it started losing control. The chopper spun around over the roof before crashing onto its side. Debris from the crash went flying down onto pedestrians. Part of the craft's tail was left sticking out of the roof.

The pilot and two passengers were helped out of the crash. The pilot received medical attention for minor injuries that he had sustained. The passengers refused treatment as medical evaluation proved that they were uninjured.

Emergency workers used a hydraulic rescue tool known as the "jaws of life" to cut into the helicopter. They swiftly retrieved the organ which had been left in the crashed chopper. After the retrieval, the organ was handed to hospital staff.

The person carrying the heart tripped and fell on the roof. The organ was dropped and the medic was helped up and handed the heart again.

Even after being in a crash and getting dropped, the organ was successfully transplanted.

According to the Daily Mail, the doctors did not feel anything more than a sudden jolt when the malfunctioning helicopter crashed onto the roof. Following the crash, some fluid was seen to be seeping out of the AgustaWestland AW109 medical helicopter. However, there were no fires or major fluid leakage. There are no reports of any injuries apart from those sustained by the pilot.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.