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Helicopter ambulance pilot dies after Christmas crash

The man piloting an air ambulance has died after crashing his helicopter at the Headland Airport on Wednesday.

According to WTVY, the man piloting the aircraft was 61-year-old Douglass Davis. He and his two crew members were returning from a canceled flight in the Florida Panhandle. There were no patients on board. The two crew members suffered no serious injuries.

Survival Flight, the company where the crew in the helicopter worked, attributed the crash to a “sudden heart attack” that Davis suffered while flying to the airport in Headland.


In a statement, Survival Flight praised Davis’ actions, saying he “heroically brought the helicopter completely back to base and nearly landed it normally, the helicopter rolling onto its side at the last second.”

Survival Flight credits Davis with saving the lives of his crewmembers and perhaps others.

Davis was hospitalized following the crash but later died, according to Survival Flight.

The company said the “pilot tragically passed away after experiencing a sudden heart attack while returning from a cancelled flight, according to preliminary information from the Henry County coroner.”

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.

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