EMS helo damaged in hard landing near Canton

A Winona, Miss.-based MedStat EMS medical helicopter, en route to a Jackson hospital with a patient, was damaged – and pilot injured – in a hard emergency landing east of Canton on Sept. 19. A second MedStat helicopter transported the patient to Baptist Medical Center in Jackson. The pilot was flown to the University of Mississippi Medical Center along with two additional helicopter crewmen. The patient was not injured further as a result of the crash, according to WLBT-TV’s interview with Madison County’s Emergency Management Director Butch Hammock. The pilot's skillful landing "saved everyone's life," he said. MedStat operates helicopters in Winona and near Columbus. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. Source: The Associated Press, Sept. 22, 2013.