Olafo sent me a note last night asking how my son was recovering from
the helicopter crash last September. I had been thinking about posting
a note to the list since many of you expressed interest privately but
was waiting to see if I had some more definitive word on his
condition... like, will he ever fly again? There's still an excellent
chance that he will but it's still not certain.
Following is a copy of the reply I sent back to Olafo. I also attached
a picture of the chopper (what was left of it). I can't send that to
the list but if you're interested to see what a Bell Long Ranger looks
like after hitting power lines and falling 205 feet into the trees send
me a message off-list and I'll send you a copy (250 KB) provided that
you do not re-distribute it to anyone and delete it soon after viewing.
Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for asking. He is physically recovered except that he is
suffering from what is called Benign Position Specific Vertigo (BPS)...
he gets dizzy from lateral acceleration to the left or when his head is
in certain positions. Not good for a pilot. It's caused by trauma to
the head which causes small particles of calcium (otoconia) to escape
from the utricle which is a tube adjacent to the ear canal. The
otoconia float around in the ear canal and cause disorientation when
they strike the cilia there. The same thing sometimes happens to the
elderly without any head trauma involved.
The treatment is actually very simple. He has to perform certain
exercises of head positioning (called the Eppley Maneuver) designed to
try and float the otoconia out of the ear canal and back to the utricle
where they came from. After each exercise he has to sleep upright that
night so the particles stay put.
After several treatments he is much improved but the problem is not
completely gone yet. The treatments are frequently 100 percent
successful but his seems to be a stubborn case. To speed his recovery
he has also been scheduled for "habituation" treatments. Even if they
are not successful in getting all of the otoconia back into the utricle
the brain can be trained to ignore the residual problem by becoming
habituated to it.
He still has hopes of getting back into the air but it will be 3-6
months after the last incidence of vertigo before he will be approved to
fly again by the state police and army flight surgeons.
ps: I've attached a photo of his New York State Police helicopter
shortly after the crash. The photog only took two pictures as he said
he was standing in jet fuel and was anxious to get out of there. Yes,
the red on the seat headrest and on the log in the foreground is Scott's
blood. He was losing it in very large amounts. The local newspaper ran
this picture on the front page after great debate in the editorial
room. They had never before published a picture showing blood.
I have recently seen the video taken for the official crash
investigation. There is debris spread over hundreds of meters. After
colliding with the power lines the main rotors sheared off the tail and
tail rotor assembly as a complete unit. It's sitting in an open field
under the power lines. Fortunately, the main fuselage made it into the
trees going somewhat backwards which "cushioned" the impact. The impact
point was measured as 205 feet (62.5 meters) above the ground. He's one
lucky kid!
Chuck
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