'Miracle' pilot meets his angel

As the giant eight-ton Air Force Oryx helicopter hurtled uncontrollably to Earth, Captain Brent Groger believed he was "most definitely finished".

Groger, 25, was in the rear of the chopper and the last thing he remembers about the freak accident at Durban International Airport in June 2003, was hearing the "spine-chilling screams" of the rest of the crew in the front of the helicopter as it smashed into the ground.

Now, 16 months after the crash, Groger, has just found out exactly what happened after he blacked out. He was guest speaker at a breakfast hosted by the South African National Blood Service in Durban, and finally got to meet the paramedic who was first on the scene.

'Groger has just found out exactly what happened after he blacked out'

He's David Doull, KwaZulu-Natal operations manager of the non-profit Star (Specialised Trauma Air Response) organisation. He also spoke at the breakfast, and told guests that meeting up with his "incredible" former patient - "officially, this time" - was indeed a privilege.

Amazingly, Doull and his crew who had been flying in their helicopter to another serious accident at Hibberdene, were near the airport when they picked up the Oryx's Mayday distress call, enabling them to attend to the four injured Air Force crew within seconds of the crash.

Groger, who was initially given only a one percent chance of survival, says he owes his life to blood donors: he received 40 pints of blood, 20 of them while lying on the operating table undergoing emergency surgery. Such was his amazing recovery he was dubbed the "miracle child" by doctors and staff at St Augustine's Hospital.

Groger recalled how he had initially been flying the helicopter on a training sortie before handing over to Captain Trevor Williamson. Also on board was Lieutenant Chris Oppermann, who has "thousands of hours" of flying experience, and Flight Engineer Sergeant Andy Walker.

Everything was going well until they neared the Pavilion shopping centre near Westville. Suddenly, they experienced tail rotor failure, "the worst possible emergency you can imagine". Losing the stabilising effect of the tail rotor causes the machine to spin like a top as the massive power of the primary rotor blades takes over.

The crew was flying at 2 000 feet and had virtually no control as the helicopter began spinning. They would learn later that a bearing had seized.

The stricken helicopter was never any threat to the Pavilion or motorists, however, and Groger said in a later interview that although the Oryx was spinning, they were able to move forward and the crew decided to put down in an open field.

But then, having regained control of the Oryx, they opted to head back to the Air Force base at the airport.

They were flying at 150 feet (45m) and were almost there, when the helicopter once again began spinning violently. Then came the crash that nearly cost Groger his life.

Breakfast guests listened engrossed as Doull told them that he and his Star team witnessed what looked like a scene from a movie. The "badly buckled" Oryx was on its side and fuel was gushing out of the fuselage. The engine was still ticking and bits of rotor blades lay scattered on the grass. There were fire trucks and people were running to the scene from every direction.

Doull ran through the fire engine foam and quickly determined that Groger, who was convulsing and in "incredible pain" from severe internal injuries, was the worst case. He told other emergency service personnel, then left for
his Hibberdene emergency.

Doull would say later: "The chances were that four people who had fallen out of the sky from 150 feet in an eight-ton helicopter could all have died. The only thing that was going to make a difference was rapid transportation to hospital".

Groger was flown to St Augustine's by a police Air Wing helicopter, and Doull praised the "heroic efforts" of the hospital's surgical team. The scan revealed that he had a ruptured aorta - an injury similar to the one that killed Princess Diana.

A week after an operation on Groger's ruptured aorta, doctors broke the news to him about the rest of his injuries. His spine had been so badly compressed the vertebrae had exploded on impact and been thrust into his intestines and spine. He had multiple fractures including a crushed right knee, a punctured lung and damaged vocal cords.

Doctors thought he would never walk again, but he stunned them by doing just that 10 days later. He has since spent 144 days in hospital, had 37 hours of surgery and nine major operations. His knee and ligaments have been reconstructed and he still faces further operations.

His recovery was an "incredible struggle" and as well as owing his life to blood donors, he also acknowledges the "brilliant work" done at St Augustine's.

Groger is still on special sick leave, but he's determined to resume flying next year. However, he will report back to the air base next week where he will undertake administrative duties.

Now that Groger and Doull have met up again, they have vowed to stay in touch.

"It's unreal to meet David," says Groger.

Adds Doull: "The last time I saw Brent he was on a ventilator in hospital."

Daily News