A helicopter that was transporting a donated heart made a hard crash landing Friday afternoon on the Keck Hospital of USC helipad, but no serious injuries were reported.
Emergency personnel were dispatched about 3:20 p.m. to the hospital in the 1500 block of North San Pablo Street in Boyle Heights, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The private air ambulance was stable on its side near the helipad’s edge by 3:40 p.m., with no fire, and it did not appear to have a significant fuel leak, she said.
The helicopter’s two passengers were evaluated but “had no medical complaints,” according to Stewart, who said the pilot suffered minor injuries.
“No one on the ground or in the hospital was injured and patient care was not disrupted,” according to a Keck Hospital of USC statement.
The heart was safely retrieved by firefighters and given to hospital staff. Within two hours of the crash, the organ was being transplanted into the patient for which it was intended, Keck Hospital of USC reported.